Photo: Joel Venzke
The Drake volleyball team fell 3-0 to Creighton on Saturday at the Knapp Center in the team’s annual Dig Pink match, dropping the Bulldogs to 3-18 overall and 2-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Creighton dropped Drake by set scores of 25-17, 25-17 and 25-11.
Drake narrowed Creighton’s lead to 13-8 in the opening set, but the Bluejays used a Bulldog error to extend the lead to 14-8. Creighton maintained control despite three consecutive Drake kills to shorten the gap at 22-15 and claimed the opening set 25-17.
Freshman middle blocker Cassie Effken evened the second set at six-all thanks to an early kill followed by an ace. The MVC rivals traded momentum until Creighton scored three unanswered points to take a 19-15 lead. Creighton won six of the last eight points to seal its second set victory, 25-17.
The Bluejays controlled the third set from beginning to end to complete the 3-0 sweep. Saturday’s rout improved Creighton to 18-3 overall and 9-1 in the MVC, ranking second in the conference behind Northern Iowa.
The loss marked Drake’s 11th 3-0 defeat this season. Senior defensive specialist Sarah Madden provided a Drake highlight despite the defeat. Madden registered a match-high 24 digs to reach 845 career digs, ranking 10th in program history.
Effken recorded seven kills in addition to three digs, three solo blocks, one service ace and one block assist. Senior outside hitter Bentley Mancini tallied seven kills.
Senior setter Megan Bober paced the Bluejays’ sweep with a match-high 28 assists plus seven kills and eight digs.
The Bulldogs are back in action against Southern Illinois at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Knapp Center.
