OMAHA, Neb. – Drake volleyball earned their first win of the 2024 season this evening with a 3-0 sweep of Omaha. The Bulldogs beat the host Mavericks in the first match of the MH Hospitality Omaha Challenge.
Drake (1-3) stayed afloat in the opening stages of the first set until a 4-0 run gave the Bulldogs their first extended lead of the night at 9-5. The two teams traded scores through the mid-way point of the first period but another run, this time 6-0 spurt including four
Macy Daufeldt scores and two
Bliss Beck kills. The Bulldogs went up by 10 and cruised to the set win, 25-14.
Omaha (0-4) bounced back in the second set and built a 13-11 lead of their own before the Bulldogs got their rhythm back. Two Maverick errors and an
Ashlynn Kuhn kill put the Dogs in front 14-13, a lead they did not relinquish. Drake eventually scored two straight points to secure the victory in the second, 25-20.
The third set featured much of the same dominating play from the Drake side. A 5-0 rally with a trio of kills from Daufeldt,
Megan Witte, and Beck snapped a stalemate to give the Bulldogs an 11-6 advantage. Drake's lead continued to grow through the remainder of the period as the Bulldogs went on to win the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-0.
"We needed that…tonight was a total team effort," Drake head coach
Darrin McBroom said. "Every hitter was above .242….
Addison Beagle did a great job distributing the offense. Jada [Wills] led the back line well…and everybody really just did their part. Omaha was picked to finish first in the Summit League, so they're a good team and it was great to get out with a win. We're not all built around one or two players, and we saw that tonight."
Daufeldt's 13 kills lead all players while
Megan Witte added a dozen.
Ashlynn Kuhn logged a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Daufedt also had four service aces, three of which came in one set, while Witte led the entire match with five blocks. Elsewhere,
Jada Wills had 20 digs and
Addison Beagle dished out 39 assists.
Drake will finish their trip to Omaha tomorrow evening with a neutral site tilt against Oklahoma at 6 p.m.
