EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Drake volleyball team displayed tremendous effort in a thrilling back-and-forth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship match at the Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Nov. 23. UNI (26-7) hoisted the MVC championship trophy, barely outlasting Drake (26-7) in five sets (20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 13-15).
 
Rodrigues led all players with 23 kills while adding three blocks. The MVC Player of the Year, Haley Bush bashed 19 kills and had 14 digs. Taylor Oberpriller (11) joined Rodrigues and Bush with double digit kills. Jada Wills collected a team-high 30 digs and MVC Freshman of the Year Addison Beagle dished out 56 assists.
 
After dropping the opening set, 25-22, Drake began set two on a 3-0 spurt. Addison Beagle teed up back-to-back Ashlynn Kuhn kills for a 9-6 advantage early on in the second set. Rodrigues contributed the final three points of the 25-19 set two victory for the Bulldogs with a pair of kills and a block.
 
Back-to-back kills from Rodrigues boosted Drake to an 8-5 lead in the third set. The momentum continued into the middle stages of the set when Haley Bush swung the ball between two UNI defenders. The Bulldogs created a 24-19 margin and a Panther attack error sealed the third game (25-19) as Drake led the match, two sets to one.
 
Drake fell into an 8-2 hole in the fourth set, but the resilient Bulldogs battled back to an 11-10 lead following consecutive Bush service aces. Both teams went back-and-fourth in set four as the score was tied 22-22. The Panthers tallied the next three points to win 25-22, forcing a fifth and deciding set.
 
UNI jumped out 6-3 in the fifth set before Drake roared back to even the score 7-7 behind a thunderous hit by Rodrigues. Beagle laid the ball up to Rodrigues again for a 10-9 lead in the final set. A crucial 3-point run by UNI put the Panthers in the driver's seat ahead, 12-10. A service error and Bush kill tied the set yet again. Trailing 14-13, the Bulldogs sought another tie but Inga Rotto was at the net to deliver the championship point.  

Drake volleyball will now wait to see if it qualified for the NCAA Division I volleyball tournament during the selection show on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening. The Bulldogs have set a program record with 26 wins.
 
NOTES

• The 2022 MVC championship match saw 33 ties and 12 lead changes.
• In the history of the Gateway and Missouri Valley Conference, tonight marked the eighth time that the championship match lasted five sets.
• Tonight's title match was Drake's first title match appearance since 1996.
• Tonight's championship match against UNI was the sixth all-time meeting between Drake and the Panthers in the MVC Tournament. UNI leads the postseason rivalry by a 6-1 margin.
• Drake is now 6-12 all time in the MVC tournament.
• Drake made the program's fourth MVC title match appearance and first since 1996 (lost to Illinois State).
• The Bulldogs' 12-match win streak came to an end.
• Rodrigues recorded 20 or more kills for the fifth time this season.
• Wills had 30 or more digs for the fourth time this season.
• UNI's Inga Rotto is the sister of Drake outside hitter Thea Rotto.