CORALVILLE, Iowa – The Drake volleyball team returned to the court for its second game in as many days Wednesday night traveling east to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes from Xtreme Arena. Despite and efficient hitting night from the Bulldogs, they were ultimately swept by their in-state counterparts.
Drake got out to a hot start and won the opening three points of the first set as
Aniyah Davis led things off with a monster solo block. The Hawkeyes immediately countered, however, with a 3-0 run of their own which set the back-and -forth tone for the frame. Drake and Iowa proceeded to trade points all the way to the media timeout with the Hawkeyes up by one, 15-14. After the break, Iowa found a rhythm and pulled away from the Bulldogs winning six of the next eight points to extend its lead out to 21-16. Despite Drake rallying with a late 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 23-21, the Hawkeyes took the final two points to claim the frame.
Set two had a similar theme with the back-and-forth action between the Bulldogs and Hawkeyes. Drake had the early lead mainly using
Lisa Melenciano on the attack, but Iowa stayed right within striking distance and eventually brought the set even at 8-8 with a 3-0 run. Once again, the Hawkeyes went into the media break up 15-14 over the Bulldogs after its defense picked up with back-to-back blocks and then pulled away late with a 4-0 run to make it 23-18. A couple of Hawkeye attack errors and a
Bliss Beck kill kept the Bulldogs alive, but the comeback attempt was cut short and Iowa took set two, 25-21.
For the first time in the match Drake started off a set trailing as Iowa raced ahead 8-5. An immediate response from the Bulldogs brought the set even though at 8-8 with a 3-0 run sparked by a
Jasmine Dulan ace. The Hawkeyes, however, got back into a groove and went up by five at the 17-12 mark following a defensive block and Drake was forced to call a timeout. When play resumed, Iowa stayed ahead of Drake and closed out the match with a 25-17 set win.
Drake hit at a clip of .229 on the night and was led by Melenciano with 11 kills. Next in line for Drake offensively was
Caroline Smith with nine kills.
Katie Quick had a team-high 21 assists while
Carolyn Maser added 11 helpers of her own. Dulan went for 11 digs to pace Drake defensively.
The Bulldogs will continue their trek into Big Ten territory this weekend as they head to East Lansing, Michigan for the Kathy DeBoer Invitational Presented by Auto-Owners Insurance. Drake will play a doubleheader on Friday first taking on Wright State at noon CT and following against Michigan State at 5 p.m. CT.
