PEORIA, Ill. – The Drake volleyball team concluded its weekend road trip to Illinois on Saturday afternoon and fell to the Bradley Braves in five sets with the Braves pulling off a reverse sweep against the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs and Braves went back-and-forth to open up the first set of the match and eventually came even at the 9-9 mark. Drake found a little bit of a rhythm shortly after, however, and put some distance between Bradley going up 14-10 getting a service ace from
Katie Quick. Down the stretch, the Bulldogs used a 3-0 scoring spurt to extend their lead to 21-14 as
Kamryn Behrns and
Bliss Beck got involved in the offensive attack and went on to win the frame, 25-21, with Behrns providing the closing kill.
Set two was another back-and-forth battle in the early goings, but this time around it was Bradley who jumped ahead using a 3-0 run to set the score at 10-6. Moments later, Drake delivered a counter blow with an 8-0 run of its own to take the lead over the Braves going into the media timeout at 15-11. Lisa Melenciao and
Shay McMillen were the Bulldog duo doing the damage over that stretch recording four kills between them. The Bulldogs rode that momentum all the way to the end of the frame and Melenciano provided the set-winning kill, 25-20.
Looking for the sweep, Drake was out to a fast start in the third set with an early 10-6 advantage after
Matthea Dalton scored a kill, but the Braves would come roaring back. Bradley first trimmed the Bulldog lead down to 15-13 using a 4-0 run and then eventually got it to the 23-21 mark off a 5-0 run. A service error by Bradley gave the Bulldogs match point, but the Braves responded from the error ripping off the next five points to steal the set away from Drake, 26-24.
With the opportunity for the sweep gone Drake had to bounce back in the fourth set, but Bradley had other plans. The Braves got the jump on the Bulldogs with an 8-3 start that turned into a 15-10 lead by the time of the media timeout. Drake had a tough time stringing together any runs but eventually chipped away at the Bradley lead and drew even at 20-20 after four kills by Dalton and a
Jasmine Dulan service ace. Ultimately that wasn't enough to complete the comeback for Drake, however, and Bradley took the frame, 25-21.
Drake won the first three points of set five to try and set the tone, but just as they had done in the previous two sets Bradley fought back and tied it up at 6-6. The Bulldogs regained their three-point lead at the 10-7 mark getting another kill by Dalton, but once again the Braves wouldn't go away and 4-0 run pushed them into the lead at 12-11. After the two sides traded points to a 14-14 draw, it ultimately was Bradley behind the attack of Chloe Parker to win the set, 16-14 and complete the reverse sweep.
"Bradley played very well in the latter part of the match and truly outperformed us," Drake head coach
Darrin McBroom said. "Tough night for the Bulldogs. We need to regroup, learn from tonight, and prepare to move forward."
Drake had five total players reach double digits in kills for the match with McMillen leading the pack at 17. Following her was Dalton (16), Behrns (13), Melenciano (11), and Beck (10). Meanwhile, both of Drake's setters reached 30 assists.
Carolyn Maser tallied 32 helpers for a new career high and Quick finished with 30. Dulan and Dalton led the defensive efforts for the Bulldogs with the pair recording 25 digs each.
Drake returns to the hardwood next week with a pair of matches against UNI and Indiana State. The Bulldogs first take on the Panthers on Thursday, Oct. 8 from Cedar Falls at 6 p.m. Drake will then travel to Terre Haute to challenge the Sycamores on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m.
