LINCOLN, Neb. – The Drake volleyball team suffered a loss at the hands of No. 22 Utah, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in its final match of the Husker Invitational.
 
It was a fast start for Utah against the Bulldogs in the first set as it grabbed an early lead scoring the first seven points causing Drake to take a timeout. When the frame hit the halfway point, Drake was still facing a significant deficit, 14-6, following a kill from Macy Daufeldt. It wasn't much later that the Utes closed out the set with a 3-0 scoring run, 25-11.
 
The second set saw the Bulldogs and Utes go back-and-forth all the way into extra points. The two sides kept it close in the early goings not giving any space for separation as the score hit 10-10 after another Daufeldt score. After the frame became tied again at 15-15, Utah started to pull away a bit with a 3-0 scoring streak, but the Bulldogs eventually pulled back to even at 24-24 following a pair of kills from Daufeldt and Caroline Smith. Two consecutive errors from Utah then put Drake ahead, 26-25, and caused the Utes to take a timeout. After the break, however, Utah rattled off three straight points to win the set, 28-26.
 
In the third set, Drake was able to capitalize off some errors from Utah and grab the lead, 6-3. The Bulldogs held their lead until the midway point of the frame when a 4-0 scoring streak pushed the Utes in front, 12-11. Drake and Utah would trade points over the next few moments, but it was another scoring run from Utah that created some distance to make the score 19-17. The Utes never lost the lead from that moment and won the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-0.

"Today was a good showing of our team despite the outcome," Drake head coach Darrin McBroom said. "Our team did really well on defense versus an exceptionally strong top-25 offensive team."
 
Daufeldt was the only Bulldog to tally double-digit kills in the match with 11. She also added seven digs and two blocks on the defensive side. Lisa Melenciano had the second most kills for Drake with five. Carolyn Maser recorded 12 assists to lead the Bulldogs in that category, while Gabbie Schroeder racked up a team-high 13 digs.
 
Drake will be back on the court next week for the South Dakota Classic from Vermillion, South Dakota in its final non-conference tournament. The Bulldogs will go up against Wichita State in their first match on Thursday, Sep. 18 at 4 p.m. CT.