BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Drake volleyball team began its 2025 season on Friday with a pair of matches against Loyola Chicago and Wright State as part of the WKU Invitational. The Bulldogs fought hard, but ultimately suffered a pair of losses in two five set thrillers against the Ramblers and Raiders.
 
AGAINST LOYOLA CHICAGO
The Bulldogs jumped out ahead of the Ramblers in the early goings of the first set and claimed a 6-3 lead to get their day started following a kill from Addison Beagle. After Loyola battled back to pull within a point at 8-7, Drake went on a huge 7-0 run to seize the momentum. Over that run, the Bulldogs defense picked up a pair of blocks from the duo of Kacia Brown and Aniyah Davis to help them extend the lead out to 15-7. Down the stretch, Drake pushed its lead to double digits at 20-10 with another tag team block this time from Bliss Beck and Macy Daufeldt. The two sides then traded points until Davis secured the set, 25-15, with a kill.
 
The second set was a back-and-forth battle between the Bulldogs and Ramblers to the very end. After coming even at 5-5, Drake gained a slight lead to move the score to 10-6 following back-to-back kills from Caroline Smith and Brown, which forced Loyola to call a timeout. The break proved to be effective as the Ramblers eventually took the lead from the Bulldogs at 15-14 following a 4-0 scoring spurt. Drake and Loyola matched each other point-for-point in the closing stages of the set with neither side gaining more than a point of cushion coming to draw at 26-26. However, Loyola went on to win the final two points with a block and a kill to bring the match even at one set apiece.
 
Set three saw the Bulldogs regain their rhythm from the first set and race out to an early 10-6 lead highlighted by consecutive service aces from Brown. As the set moved toward the middle stages, Loyola cut into Drake's lead, but Brown continued to make plays, this time with a solo block, to push the score to 15-11 and issue a timeout by the Ramblers. Brown kept up her stellar play in the set a few points later recording her third service ace of the frame, which gave the Bulldogs a 21-15 edge and ultimately led to another set win for the Bulldogs, 25-18.
 
Needing just one more set victory to secure the win the Bulldogs looked to close out the Ramblers in the fourth set. However, Loyola wouldn't back down easily. A 5-0 scoring run by the Ramblers gave them the advantage at 13-7 and left the Bulldogs facing a deficit. Drake tried their best to climb out of the hole and drew within two points at 19-17 taking advantage of some errors on the side of Loyola, but another scoring run late in the set propelled to Ramblers to the set win, 25-19.
 
In the fifth and final set, Drake was down early but fought its way back to make the set even at 7-7. After trading points over the next few possessions, the Bulldogs used a kill from Emily Lisi and a service ace from Emaline Handzel to go up 12-10. The Ramblers didn't go away, however, and brought the score back to all square at 13-13. Daufeldt registered her 20th kill of the game to give the Bulldogs a match point, but then Loyola went on a 3-0 scoring run to win the set, 16-14, and the match, 3-2.
 
AGAINST WRIGHT STATE
The first set between the Bulldogs and the Raiders broke open with the Drake going on a 6-0 scoring run to set the score at 11-5 early in the frame. Following two straight kills from Daufeldt and Brown, the Bulldogs pushed their lead up to seven, 17-10, later in the set. Wright State made a push using a couple of 3-0 spurts to cut the Drake lead down to two points, 22-20, but the Bulldogs staved off the comeback attempt with a Brown service ace to win the set, 25-22.
 
After facing a slight deficit in the beginning of the second set, Drake came roaring back behind a 5-0 scoring stretch to jump in front of Wright State, 10-6. The Bulldogs maintained their lead over the Raiders and used another 5-0 run, capitalizing on multiple attack errors, to give them a double-digit advantage, 22-11. Shortly after that, the Bulldogs found themselves up two sets with a 25-17 win.
 
Drake and Wright State didn't give much ground in the early goings of the third set as they came together at 10-10. The Bulldogs then took hold the momentum and rattled off four-straight points causing the Raiders to call a timeout. When play resumed, Wright State responded with a run of its own to bring the frame all square at 14-14. With the momentum now on the side of WSU, it went on another scoring streak to go up 19-16 and eventually avoided the sweep with a 25-20 set victory.
 
With a set win now under its belt, Wright State got off to a quick start in set four of the match. However, Drake used a pair a 3-0 scoring runs to cut into the WSU lead and bring the score back level at 11-11. Smith spearheaded the runs from the Bulldogs logging three kills in that span. Wright State once again had an immediate response, though and went up 15-11. The Raiders never relinquished the lead from the moment on and forced a fifth set, taking the fourth frame 25-18.
 
In the decisive fifth set, the Bulldogs and Raiders battled for points early on and reached a draw at 6-6 following a service ace from Daufeldt. The back-and-forth action continued as the two squads moved closer to the 15-point mark matching each other again in points at 13-13. Wright State then went to their ace, Katie Sowko, who scored the final two kills of match completing the comeback for the Raiders.

"We played two really tough matches today against two really, really good mid-major teams," Drake head coach Darrin McBroom said. "We were right there with them in both cases and came up just a little bit short. We've got some things to work on, but we're here to be tested and we're getting tested and we're figuring out what we need to do to be just a little bit better to put ourselves in the mix with some of the best out there."
 
The Bulldogs will close out their time at the WKU Invitational with a single match against Western Kentucky tomorrow. The Bulldogs and Hilltoppers are scheduled to play at 1:30 p.m. CT.