Story by Ashley Beall

The Drake volleyball team traveled to Illinois State this past Sunday and lost in straight sets.

The game was delayed due to the severe weather that caused Redbird Arena to lose power.

The Redbirds are now 10-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the Bulldogs still have yet to win a game and are 0-16 in conference play.

Junior Halli Meyer had a team-high 12 digs while senior Sarah Madden had eight digs.

Freshman Makena Schoene continued her solid play with eight kills, and sophomore Rebecca Brown had 14 assists.

The Bulldogs were able to pull away slightly in the first set on a kill from Schoene, which gave them the 7-5 edge.

However, the lead was short-lived, as the Redbirds scored 11 straight points, forcing the Bulldogs to call two timeouts, but it proved to be no help.

Freshman Capris Quaites was able to break Illinois State’s run with a kill, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Redbirds. They won the first set 25-16.

The second set didn’t prove to be any better for the Bulldogs, as the Redbirds pulled away with an early 14-6 lead.

The Bulldogs were able to bounce back with a 5-1 scoring run, closing the gap to 15-11. Illinois State was able to keep its lead and extend it to 22-12 until the Bulldogs went on another run, scoring four points in a row.

It wasn’t enough momentum, though, as the Redbirds would win the set 25-17. In this set, the Redbirds proved to be the stronger team with 20 kills.

The third set was brutal for the Bulldogs as they lost 25-9. Drake had only four kills and a hit -.133.

The Bulldogs are still looking for their first conference win this weekend with two home games, against Loyola on Friday and Bradley on Saturday.