DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake volleyball (9-6, 2-1) suffered a heartbreaking loss in their home opener this evening. The Bulldogs and Flames of UIC (12-5, 3-1) worked their way through five competitive sets before UIC caught fire and picked up the 3-2 win.
UIC traversed through a back-and-forth opening stanza and built an early 10-7 lead to force a Drake timeout. The Flames maintained their momentum after the Bulldog break as they fed Martina Delucchi and forced another Drake timeout after earning a 20-17 advantage. UIC eventually burned a timeout of their own as Drake cut the deficit to just one point on a service error and block by Taylor Oberpriller and Kacie Rewerts. UIC weathered the Bulldog rally and went on to take the first set, 25-21.
The second set started in similar fashion as UIC was able to jump out to another early lead. Trailing 9-6, Ashlynn Kuhn sparked a brief comeback for Drake as the hosts rattled off three-straight scores to get even. A tandem block by Oberpriller and Rewerts gave Drake and 11-10 advantage that they never relinquished. Drake eventually won the set 25-19 as Rewerts recorded her seventh kill of the match to end the frame.
The Bulldogs found their footing another competitive start to the third set. Drake went on a 5-0 scoring run to lead 10-5 and force an early Flames timeout. UIC used an overturned call and a brief barrage to rally and knot the score at 11-all. The two teams traded scores up to the final moments when another combination block from Rewerts and Oberpriller ended the set in favor of Drake, 25-22.
Drake seemed to be in control of the fourth set until the Flames rallied midway through the frame. Zahria Woodard and Gabi Peter blocked a Bulldog hit to tie the score at 18-18 and cap off a 4-0 UIC run. Drake faltered as the Flames pressure was too much and the visitors took the fourth set 25-22 to force a fifth period.
UIC roared out to a 9-0 lead to start the final set. The Bulldogs failed to keep up with the visitors' blitz as UIC eventually earned a 15-7 in the fifth frame and the 3-2 match victory.
Ashlynn Kuhn led Drake with 13 kills followed by Taylor Oberpriller with 12 and Kacie Rewerts with 10. Rewerts also led the Bulldogs with eight blocks. Setter Addison Beagle pitched in with 39 assists and Jada Wills collected 13 digs on the defensive side of the net.
"Tonight was tough for us," Drake head coach Darrin McBroom said after the match. "Credit to UIC…we knew coming in that the margins were pretty small, and we would need to be at our best to win and we weren't [at our best]. We did some things well…middle offense looked pretty good, but we have to be better at finding some ways to play through adversity…we'll go back and work on that and go from there."
The Bulldogs wrap up their weekend double header tomorrow evening with another home match in MVC play. Drake is set to host Valparaiso on Saturday, Sep. 30 at 5 p.m.
NOTES
- UIC's triumph snapped a three-game Drake winning streak over the Flames.
- Taylor Oberpriller posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs.
- Kacie Rewerts rejected a season-high eight blocks for the fourth time this season.
- Haley Bush is now second all-time on Drake's all-time kills list with 4,166.
