GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Drake volleyball team split two games at the opening day of the Green Bay Invite today. The Bulldogs' record moved to 8-3 overall after taking down SIUE in three sets (25-12, 25-23, 25-18) dropping the nightcap to Green Bay in four (23-25, 11-25, 25-14, 18-25).
 
The Bulldogs' victory over SIUE came in relatively quick fashion. Drake took the first set going away, 25-12. A Haley Bush attack error narrowed the Bulldogs' early lead to 8-5 before Drake pulled away. The lead was never closer in the set as Ashlynn Kuhn provided the final blow to go up 1-0 overall.
 
The Cougars seemed to shake off any pre-tournament nerves and challenged Drake in the second set. SIUE fought back after trailing by as many as six points in the early stages of the set before going on a 9-1 run to get back within three. The Cougars rallied again later in the stanza and trimmed the Drake advantage to just a single point before Mariana Rodrigues was assisted by Addison Beagle for the winner.
 
Drake then powered through another solid set with 9-2 run and another Rodrigues kill to seal the victory.
 
Rodrigues led the Bulldogs in the first match with 11 kills. Addison Beagle recorded a match-high 33 assists while Jada Wills added 13 digs.
 
The host squad from Green Bay controlled much of the match to end the night. The Bulldogs kept things closest in the first set as both teams went on multiple runs and traded scores down the stretch. Trailing 22-21, the Phoenix rattled off three straight kills from Shannon Coughlin, Alexandra Zakutney, and Angie Gromos to take the lead. Despite another Bulldog point, Green Bay took the first set of the match.
 
Drake struggled to contain the Green Bay attack in the second set and failed to match the Phoenix's offensive production as the hosts took the frame 25-11.
 
The Bulldogs then fought back in the third to cut the match score in half. Drake got out to an 8-1 lead and didn't look back. The Bulldogs went on another 4-0 run later in the period to secure the third set by a 25-14 margin.
 
Finally, Green Bay got back into a rhythm in the fourth set with another 6-1 start and ferocious finish. Drake did all they could late in the match, trimming the set lead to just four points, but could not climb all the way back.
 
Haley Bush made 16 kills and recorded three service aces. Beagle again provided 30+ assists with 32 and Wills added 14 more digs. Kacie Rewerts had a solid effort on the front line of the Drake defense with five total blocks.
 
"I'm proud of our team's performance today," Drake head coach Darrin McBroom said. "We executed very, very well against SIUE in the afternoon match. We knew Green Bay would be a good test for us and it was. They are a good team and we will get better from tonight's loss."
 
The Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow at the second day of the Green Bay Invite. Drake will take on North Dakota at 11 a.m. and Western Illinois at 3 p.m. in the final non-conference matches of the year.
 
 
NOTES

• Mariana Rodrigues' 11 kills vs. SIUE matched her total from the 2022 season opener against Cal State Northridge.
• The sweep over SIUE was Drake's fourth 3-0 victory of the year.
• Green Bay's victory halted the Bulldogs' three-game winning streak.
• Taylor Oberpriller matcher her season-high with four blocks.