EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Drake volleyball team (12-6, 5-1) earned their second-straight 3-0 sweep in a dominant defeat of Evansville (6-11, 1-5) this evening. The Bulldogs came out of the gate hot with two quick wins before a more challenging third set but withstood the Purple Aces' late charge to complete the win.

The Bulldogs owned the first set, earning a 25-10 win. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead on the shoulders of their potent offense and stifled the Purple Aces down the stretch. Haley Bush herself scored on three-straight kills during the Dogs' closing 12-2 run in their first set triumph.

Drake made quick work of the Purple Aces again in the second set despite some earlier offense from the hosts. The Bulldogs got into a rhythm midway through the stanza and finished the frame on another 8-1 rally including back-to-back Macy Daufeldt kills. Two-straight Evansville errors capped off the Bulldogs' 25-14 win.

Evansville provided a more challenging effort in the third set but could not keep up with Drake's high-powered attack. The Bulldogs trailed 6-5 before regaining their momentum with a Taylor Oberpriller kill and two more UE errors. Drake eventually jumped out to a 17-10 lead after a 6-0 run. The two teams traded scores throughout the remainder of the third set until the visiting Bulldogs clinched the match win with a 25-20 set victory.

As a team, the Bulldogs hit above the .300 mark for the second-consecutive match with a .336 hitting clip.

Haley Bush led Drake for the second night in a row with 15 kills and added three blocks. Oberpriller pitched in with 13 kills and completed a double-double with a match-best 20 digs. Addison Beagle posted 23 assists followed by Madison Geise's 14. Elsewhere, Jada Wills had 19 digs and scored the only service ace of the contest.

"Playing Evansville is always tough," Drake head coach Darrin McBroom explained. "They have some great athletes. We were fortunate tonight as our players remained disciplined and took care of business on our side of the net. Trying to win two matches in a weekend in The Valley is always our goal, and it's hard to do, so I'm really proud of our team tonight."

Drake will return home for their next three matches with meetings against Southern Illinois and Missouri State next weekend and a visit from rival UNI on Monday, Oct. 14.
 
NOTES

• Drake is now 5-3 away from home this season.
• The Bulldogs have now won five of their last six contests.
• Taylor Oberpriller led Drake with 20 digs, a new career high. She finished off a double-double with 13 kills.
• Jada Wills logged the only service ace of the entire match.
• Haley Bush is second all-time on Drake's all-time kills list with 1,521.