Story by Ashley Beall
Drake women’s volleyball opened its first conference game this past Saturday against Missouri Valley Conference newcomer Loyola and lost in three straight sets, 3-0.
Drake is currently 2-10 and 0-1 in conference play.
The Bulldogs lost 25-15, 25-15, 25-15.
Sophomore Rebecca Brown led the team in assists with a team-high of 21. Brown also had two blocks and eight digs.
“The game was a struggle. We could never really get into any rhythm, and we were on defense most of the match,” Brown said. “Our practices have been going really well. I think we just need to work on putting it all together and playing as hard as we do in practice.”
This game marked the return of sophomore Cassie Effken, who was recovering from a leg injury that occurred in the fourth set against DePaul before the Hawkeye Challenge.
Effken had five kills and two blocks.
“It felt great to be back on the court. I’m still not 100 percent, but I’m getting there,” Effken said.
“As for this game, I’ve always been told a loss isn’t bad as long as you can learn from it. We know we have to come out more disciplined tomorrow and take care of our side and our job in the game. I think we learned a lot from tonight.”
In the first set of the game, the Bulldogs struggled early on but fought back after a kill from sophomore Shelby Daum.
However, the Ramblers quickly recovered with four straight points that led to their eventual win 25-15.
Drake again struggled in the second half and was behind 8-5.
The Bulldogs were never able to get closer than five points to the Ramblers, and they proved too strong for the Bulldogs winning ,25-15.
The third set was no different for the Bulldogs, as they once again lost 25-15.
The Ramblers managed to pull away early on in the set 9-3 and the lead became 14-6 after a Drake error.
The Bulldogs are a fairly young team and still struggled with being able to pull everything together to get the win.
This game followed Loyola’s loss to Washington, and it broke a four-game losing streak.
Loyola had 45 kills and hit a .395. Junior Amanda Platte led the Bulldogs with three blocks, seven kills and hit .278.
Following the game against Loyola, the Bulldogs faced Bradley yesterday at 2 p.m.
