PULLMAN, Wash. – Drake volleyball (1-4) began their second weekend of the 2023 season with a Friday split. The Bulldogs opened the day with an early sweep of Tulsa (2-2) and closed the night with a hard-fought defeat at the hands of the tournament hosts, No. 17 Washington State (4-1).
Drake 3, Tulsa 0
The Bulldogs made quick work of Tulsa, thwarting the Golden Hurricane in straight sets (25-14, 25-14, 25-16). Drake got out to a 6-0 lead in the first period and outdid themselves in the second, opening the set on a 19-5 run. Drake continued on cruise control in the third set as they vaulted out to another early advantage and did not slow down.
Macy Daufeldt led all players with 18 kills while
Taylor Oberpriller reached double digits with 11.
Addison Beagle had a match-high 33 assists. Defensively,
Kacie Rewerts' four blocks were the most of any player and
Jada Wills tallied 19 digs.
No. 17 Washington State 3, Drake 1
The No. 17 Cougars of Washington State were able to flip the script on Drake in the first two sets of Friday's finale. The Cougars jumped out to early leads in the first and second period and used their top 25 talent to gain a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Drake refused to roll over, though, and gave the Cougars all they could handle in the third. The Bulldogs began the period with a
Haley Bush kill and an
Addison Beagle service ace to build a 4-0 lead. Wazzu was able to chip away, but the Bulldogs held firm and never gave up the lead in the frame.
Drake led by as many as seven points when Oberpriller and Bush traded kills to make 19-12. The Bulldogs closed the set the same way they started, with a 4-0 run including a trio of kills.
The Bulldogs pressured the Cougars in the fourth set, keeping within three points for much of the period. Washington State found some footing later in the set as they built a six-point lead and carried their momentum to a 3-1 match victory.
Oberpriller and Daufeldt again led Drake on the front line, this time with 16 and 14 kills, respectively.
Addison Beagle scored on a pair of service aces and distributed 42 assists, the most in the match. Defensively, Rewerts added another five blocks while Wills tallied 28 digs.
"It was important to come out and get the win [against Tulsa]." Drake head coach
Darrin McBroom explained. "0-3 is tough on any team…getting a win this morning was good for our morale."
"I'm proud of our performance tonight [against Washington State], too." McBroom added. "They're giants, definitely a top 25 team. Washington State is big, their athletic, but we stayed in there, kept working our game, and progressed into the third set. We turned a corner and put pressure on them. We hit over .500 on a team like that…there's definitely some positives from tonight."
The Bulldogs will conclude play at the Cougar Challenge with another neutral site match tomorrow evening. Drake is set to take on Northwestern State on Saturday, Sep. 2 at 5 p.m.
