DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake volleyball team began its weekend with a big time Missouri Valley Conference win over the Bradley Braves in five sets on Friday night from the Knapp Center. With the win the Bulldogs improved to one game above the .500 line in conference play with a league record of 5-4.
In set one the Braves were the side that first jumped ahead using a 3-0 run, capped by a defensive block, to set the score at 7-4. Just past the halfway point of the frame, Bradley still clung onto its three-point lead, 13-10, but the Bulldogs would soon come charging back.
Caroline Smith pulled Drake to within a point of the Braves at 17-16 with a kill and the intensity between the two rivals heated up. A
Bella Faria service ace kept the Bulldogs within a point of Bradley, 21-20, but down the stretch the Braves secured three of the final four points for the win, 25-22.
After starting set two to an even 5-5 draw, the Bulldogs took control with a 5-0 run. Drake took advantage of a couple of Bradley errors while
Shay McMillen provided some offense with a pair of kills during that stretch putting the Dogs in control through the early stages. It was an 8-0 from Drake shortly after, however, that really set the Bulldogs apart with the score now at 18-8. Doing much of the damage for the Drake attack over the 8-0 spurt was Smith who recorded four-straight kills in the middle of the run. The Braves would start to chip away at their deficit and eventually closed the gap down to 24-19, but the Bulldogs went back to Smith for the set winner, and the match was even at 1-1.
In the third set, McMillen was the one to get the Bulldogs going as she racked up three early kills in the frame to propel Drake to an 8-5 advantage. The two sides would draw even twice through the middle stage of the set first at 11-11 and then again at 17-17, but once again the hot hand of Smith sparked a late run by the Bulldogs and Drake claimed the frame, 25-20.
Some early errors from the Bulldogs gave Bradley the slight lead to start the fourth set, 10-9, but Drake eventually countered as a kill from
Kamryn Behrns knotted things up at 13-13. Bradley fired back with a strong response though and used a 7-1 run to pull away from the Bulldogs, 20-14. Drake would get as close as three points at the end, 24-21, but Bradley was not to be denied and won the following point to force a decisive fifth set.
Set five went back-and-forth to begin with Drake and Bradley trading run-for-run. First the Braves with a 3-0 spurt countered by the Bulldogs with a 4-0 tally and then back to the Braves again with four-straight scores to make it even at 8-8. Back-to-back winners form the Bulldogs proved to be the deciding factor at the 11-9 mark, however, as they never relinquished the lead from there and it was the duo McMillen and Smith to close out the match recording the final pair of kills.
Smith posted a career-best 24 kills in the match to pace the Bulldog attack, while McMillen was next in line with 14 kills of her own. Drake's pair of middle blockers,
Aniyah Davis and
Bliss Beck, meanwhile chipped in with seven kills each and combining for seven blocks on the defensive side. Setting up her teammates throughout the match was
Katie Quick who ended the night with a double-double performance going for 47 assists and 16 digs. The sophomore setter also surpassed 1,000 career assists early in the first set. Leading the defensive efforts for Drake was libero
Jasmine Dulan tallying 27 digs.
Drake returns to action tomorrow evening from the Knapp Center with a matchup against Evansville. First serve with the Purple Aces is slated for 5 p.m.
