DAYTON, Ohio – Drake volleyball (0-3) concluded their first weekend of the regular season with a pair of losses. The Bulldogs started the day with a competitive affair, another five-set loss to the host Dayton Flyers. The came back to end the tournament with a 3-0 loss to No. 24 Western Kentucky, their second ranked opponent of the year.
Dayton 3, Drake 2
The Bulldogs fought through their second five-set contest in as many matches to start Saturday's action. They took down the host Flyers of Dayton 27-25 in the first set after mounting an impressive comeback. Dayton led 20-16 before the Bulldogs got on a roll, eventually taking a 23-22 lead after a
Kacie Rewerts kill and trio of Flyer errors.
Dayton and Drake went back-and-forth to start the second set before the Flyers took control with an 8-3 run to take a 14-8 lead in the set. Dayton cruised to the set win to even the tally in the match.
Momentum flipped back to the Bulldogs in the third set as the visitors opened with a 6-2 lead capped by one of
Taylor Oberpriller's match-best 25 kills. Dayton chipped away and eventually took another 20-16 lead before the Bulldogs kicked it back into gear. The Dogs ended the frame on a 5-1 rally with back-to-back Oberpriller kills and a Dayton error to secure the set victory.
Drake hung with Dayton the rest of the way and even led 23-22 in the fourth set before a 3-0 scoring streak by the Flyers knotted the match tally and forced a fifth set. Dayton overcame another early deficit in the final frame and slammed the door on Drake with a 4-0 run to earn the 3-2 match victory.
Oberpriller added 15 digs and three blocks to her kill total while both
Haley Bush and
Macy Daufeldt logged 13 kills apiece. Daufeldt also notched a pair of service aces while
Addison Beagle dished out 55 assists. Defensively,
Kacie Rewerts led the Dogs with four blocks and
Jada Wills led all players with 33 digs.
No. 24 Western Kentucky 3, Drake 0
The Bulldogs struggled to gain any footing in the final match of the weekend, dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 24 Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers earned a 15-10 lead after trading blows in the first set. They did not look back from there, holding a lead of at least six points en route to a set victory.
Drake provided a more serios test for WKU in the second set, overcoming another mid-set deficit to get within two points in the latter stages of the frame. Back-to-back kills from Callie Bauer and Logan Grevengoed ended Drake's rally and put them on top in the match, 2-0.
The third set was a similar showing as WKU opened an early lead and the Bulldogs battled back to even the score at 20-20. The Hilltoppers were again able to keep Drake at bay, trading scores until they earned a 25-22 win to complete the sweep.
Oberpriller again led all players with 14 kills. Beagle added another 35 assists while both Wills and Daufeldt led the Bulldogs with seven digs. Defensively, Rewerts blocked another four attempts.
"I've never been so sick of being congratulated on how good our team is after losses," Bulldog head coach
Darrin McBroom expressed. "We had a lot of positive effort from our team this weekend. Spirits are still pretty high…we came here to get tested and we did. It was really our first time we've ever played teams at that level in non-conference. It exposed things that we got to work on and we're not far off. [Haley] Bush has helped turn our program around and we saw some promising players step up around her. [Macy] Daufeldt had an excellent day against a top 12 team and Taylor [Oberpriller] had over four kills per set."
"We just ran out of gas in the third match," McBroom continued, "But overall, I'm pleased at how our players stood up to some really challenging competition. We'll take this weekend and build on it."
Drake will be back in action next weekend at another three-game invitational. The Bulldogs will participate in the Cougar Challenge in Pullman, Wash. with contests against Tulsa, Northwestern State, and host Washington State from Friday, Sep. 1 to Saturday, Sep. 2.
