EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Drake volleyball advanced to just their second MVC Tournament Championship Match after a 3-0 victory over UIC in the semifinal round this evening. The Bulldogs survived a late charge from the Flames to earn the sweep, their second in three games with UIC this season.
Both teams traded scores in the opening set before the Flames gained the first substantial advantage of the match. Trailing 11-8, Drake rattled off a 9-1 run to take a 17-12 lead capped off by back-to-back kills by
Haley Bush and
Taylor Oberpriller. The Bulldogs never relinquished their lead in the set and cruised to a 25-18 victory.
The second set saw much of the same with both teams swapping blows throughout most of the period. Drake got on the board first after a Mikala Henderson attack error before a Paola Santiago kill knotted the score. Eventually, Drake opened a 13-7 lead after a pair of Bush and Oberpriller kills. UIC battled back to tie the tally at 18 apiece. The lower-seeded Flames kept the difference within two points but could not claw in front and three unanswered Bulldog scores ended the frame, 25-21.
UIC provided their stingiest challenge in the third set. The Flames opened the period with a 6-2 run and led 14-11 in the middle portion of the set. Drake steadied, however, and put together a 5-1 run finished off by another Oberpriller point to take a 21-18 lead. The Bulldogs held on through the remainder of the period to secure the 3-0 semifinal victory.
Haley Bush led the Bulldogs with 16 kills followed by
Mariana Rodrigues' 10. Bush was also the only player from either team to record multiple service aces. MVC Freshman of the Year Addison Beagle paced the Bulldogs with 34 assists. Defensively,
Jada Wills' 12 digs led all players while
Kacie Rewerts produced a match-high seven blocks.
"We knew that UIC would plays us very tough," Drake head coach
Darrin McBroom said. "They have a great team and really came to play. Out serve receive unit stayed consistent and took their tough serves and executed a very controlled game. This win was really big for our team."
Drake will face off against rival UNI tomorrow afternoon for the MVC Tournament Championship. The Bulldogs will look to earn their second-straight win over the top-seeded Panthers at 4 p.m.
NOTES
- Wednesday's title match will be the Bulldogs' first championship game appearance since 1996.
- Drake's win marked a season sweep over the Flames.
- The upcoming championship match against UNI will be the sixth all-time meeting between Drake and the Panthers in the MVC Tournament. UNI leads the postseason rivalry by a 5-1 margin.
- The Bulldogs picked up their 26th win of the season, the highest single season total in program history.
- Drake is 6-11 all time in the MVC tournament.
- Drake is making the program's fourth MVC title match appearance and first since 1996 (lost to Illinois State).
- Drake's win over UIC was the program's 26th of the season setting a new program record.
- The Bulldogs enter Wednesday's match riding a 12-match win streak, dropping only three sets during that span.
- The No. 2 seed is 21-22 (.488) all-time in the MVC Tournament
- The No. 2 seed is 5-10 (.333) all-time in the MVC Tournament title match with wins in 2021 (Illinois State), 2016 (Wichita State), 2007 (UNI), 2005 (Missouri State) and 2003 (UNI).
