OMAHA, Neb. – Drake volleyball started its 2024 season on Friday afternoon with a non-conference bout against the Missouri Tigers. The Bulldogs gave Mizzou a scare in the third set, but the SEC squad had too much firepower as they beat Drake, 3-0.
"Overall, I'm proud of the way our team played today," Drake head coach
Darrin McBroom said. "We went up against a really strong Missouri team on the verge of the top 25 and paced them well in the first set…[we] battled back in the third with a nice set from Beagle and our offense, so that was encouraging."
Drake (0-1) hung with Mizzou (1-0) in the first set, even leading by a point or two at various stages. The Tigers were able to get some separation from McBroom's group after back-to-back Bulldog errors and two consecutive kills. That run put Missouri on top, 18-13, and they did not look back from there. The Tigers took the first set, 24-16.
Missouri was able to grab the momentum much earlier in the second set and cruised through the period with little resistance from the Dogs. Mizzou eventually earned a 2-0 match lead after winning the second period, 25-14.
Finally, in the third set, Drake found its rhythm. The Bulldogs led 3-1 in the early stages after two Missouri errors and a
Macy Daufeldt kill. They later lost the lead but fought hard to keep within striking distance. Daufeldt took the reins from there and almost single-handedly forced a fourth set after killing 11 balls in the set and scoring seven of Drake's last 10 points. The Bulldogs pushed the game into extra points, but Missouri was able to stiffen and won the set, 28-26, and the match, 3-0.
Daufeldt led Drake's offense with 14 kills followed by eight from
Megan Witte and five each from
Aniyah Davis and
Ashlynn Kuhn. Davis, playing her first match as a Bulldog after redshirting last season, hit at an impressive .429 clip. Elsewhere on offense,
Addison Beagle dished out 24 assists.
Defensively, both Davis and Witte had a block while
Jada Wills led the team with 17 digs. Those 17 receptions moved Wills above the 2,000 kills mark for her career.
Drake will continue play at the Bluejay Invitational tomorrow afternoon with a matchup against NC State at 2:30 p.m.
