DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake volleyball (13-6, 6-1) earned their third-straight sweep in as many matches with a 3-0 victory over Southern Illinois (12-7, 4-4) in Des Moines this evening. The Bulldogs settled into each set to race past the Salukis 25-18, 25-18, 25-19.
 
Drake was forced to burn an early timeout after the Salukis rolled on a 9-0 scoring run to make it 11-5 in favor of the visitors. The Bulldogs battled back in the first set and returned the favor, tying the score at 12-all and forcing SIU to take their first timeout of the match.
 
The Bulldogs bounced back the remainder of the first set and cruised to an opening-period victory, 25-18.
 
Drake picked up where they left off in to start the second stanza, building an 11-6 lead. SIU responded with a brief rally of their own and got back within striking distance. The Bulldogs defense buckled down and stood up to SIU's mid-set challenge to secure their second-straight 25-18 set win.
 
The two teams traded scores through much of the third set until Drake found a little footing. The Bulldogs went on a 5-0 spurt fueled by a few Saluki errors as they built a narrow advantage at 20-16. Back-to-back Haley Bush and Taylor Oberpriller kills sparked the Bulldogs' last push as they went on to close the set 25-19 and earn the 3-0 match win.
 
Taylor Oberpriller and Haley Bush both posted double-digit kills with 15 and 11, respectively. Oberpriller also added 11 digs to complete her double-double. Jada Wills led the Bulldogs with 21 digs.
 
Elsewhere, Zeynep Gur scored on three service aces, a new career high. Ashlynn Kuhn also had six blocks, her best defensive performance of the season. Addison Beagle again led Drake with 19 assists while Madison Geise added 15.
 
"I'm really proud of our squad tonight," Drake head coach Darrin McBroom said. "SIU is a really strong program and there were times I thought we might be in trouble tonight, we stalled out and they got on a run. But I'm really proud of our athletes in terms of the grit they showed in fighting through those challenging moments. We did just get better and better as the night went along."
 
The Bulldogs will host Missouri State tomorrow evening before welcoming rival UNI to Des Moines on Monday, Oct. 16.
 

NOTES

• Drake is now 2-1 at home this season.
• Drake's three most recent tilts have ended via sweep.
• The Bulldogs have now won three matches in a row and six of their last seven contests.
• Taylor Oberpriller posted another double double with a match-high 15 kills and 11 digs.
• Zeynep Gur came on as a reserve and led all players with three service aces.
• Ashlynn Kuhn made a season-high six blocks to lead all players.
• Haley Bush is second all-time on Drake's all-time kills list with 1,532.