TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Drake volleyball team capped off its regular season on Saturday evening in convincing fashion with a three-set sweep over Indiana State inside the Hulman Center.
The first set proved to be the toughest test for the Bulldogs on the night as they faced a deficit for nearly the entire frame. Drake was never down by much, but it just couldn't quite surpass the Sycamores on the scoreboard with the Indiana State leading 15-13 at the media timeout. Later on in the set, the Bulldogs trailed by three at the 23-20 mark but rallied off a 3-0 run capped by a combo block from
Aniyah Davis and
Macy Daufeldt to bring the score even. It wasn't much later that another 3-0 scoring spurt from Drake secured the set, 26-24, with
Kacia Brown tallying the final two points with back-to-back kills.
It was all Drake in the second set with the Bulldogs ripping off an 8-0 run to start the frame. Drake started the extended run using its defense with a block by Brown and
Bliss Beck and the final point was also due to defense on a block from Beck and
Caroline Smith. The Bulldogs held firm on their lead as the set moved along and
Emily Lisi pushed the score to 17-9, which called for Indiana State to take a timeout. Drake then ended the set on a 4-0 run for a 25-16 win.
The third set saw more domination from Drake and the Bulldogs were out ahead early again winning the first four points of the frame. Drake soon was up by double-digits following another kill from Lisi to make the score 14-4. The Bulldogs remained in their grove and cruised to an easy 25-10 set win, which secured the sweep.
Brown and Daufeldt paced the Bulldog attack with the duo each recording 11 kills on the night. Defensively, Drake as a team tallied 12 blocks and Beck had a hand in eight of them. The sophomore also picked up six kills on the night. Meanwhile,
Addison Beagle went for a double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs.
Katie Quick also added 15 digs for the Bulldogs.
With the conclusion of the regular season, Drake now awaits to see who it will matchup with in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs could earn the No. 2 seed and a bye to the semifinals, or they could be the No. 3 or No. 4 seed and play in the quarterfinals depending on results around the league.
