CARBONDALE, Ill. – Drake volleyball improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in Valley competition this evening with a four-set victory at Southern Illinois. The Salukis' loss was their first in MVC play.
 
Both teams traded blows early in the match with neither team leading by more than four points in the first set. The intensity narrowed towards the end of the set with a 3-0 run by Southern Illinois to knot the score at 24 all. Both squads continued to trade scores until the Bulldogs rattled off three unanswered kills by Haley Bush, Macy Daufeldt, and Ashlynn Kuhn to win the set 30-28.
 
Southern Illinois settled into the second set with early success. Roughly halfway through the stanza, the Salukis rambled off an 8-1 run to take a 12-9 lead, one they would not surrender the rest of the way. SIU won the second set 25-21 to even the match.
 
Drake regained all the momentum early in the third set with a quick 3-0 burst out of the gate. The Bulldogs ran through the third set to a 25-20 win, outlasting a late charge from the Salukis, before putting the hammer down in the fourth. Southern Illinois tied the tally at 22 apiece before Kuhn killed a set for the go-ahead point.
 
Haley Bush led the Bulldogs with 18 kills followed by Taylor Oberpriller's 15 and Mariana Rodrigues' 13. Bush also added two service aces. Kacie Rewerts had another stellar defensive performance with seven blocks. Reigning MVC Freshman of the Week Addison Beagle led Drake with 57 assists while Jada Wills had 26 digs.

"Really proud of our team tonight," Drake head coach Darrin McBroom said after the victory. "We did a lot of things well, especially a very strong night offensively. There's some room to get better on the service line and defensively, but credit to SIU. They're a good team and we could not stop them. I'm thankful to get a win when everything's not working perfectly, and just find a way to get it done."
 
The Bulldogs will cap off their four-game road stretch to open conference play tomorrow evening at Missouri State. The Bears will host Drake in Springfield, Mo. with the first serve at 5 p.m.
 
 
Notes

• Friday's 30-point first set was Drake's highest scoring set of the season.
• Haley Bush's 18 kills marked her 987th-career kill, just 13 shy of the 1,000 mark.
• Drake's win was their fifth-consecutive victory over Southern Illinois and second-straight in Carbondale.