STORY BY ASHLEY BEALL
The Drake volleyball team played back-to-back games last weekend at the Knapp Center. Hosting Wichita State Friday and Missouri State Saturday, the Bulldogs suffered two losses.
In Friday night’s game, the Bulldogs lost to the Shockers, 3-1.
Sophomore Makena Schoene and freshman Kyla Indurski set the pace for the Bulldogs with 14 kills each. Senior Amanda Platte registered 13 kills of her own.
Inderski extended her double-double streak to eight games by adding 18 digs.
The Bulldogs looked strong in the first set against the Shockers, leading 10-8 at one point, and extended their lead to 17-14.
However, the Shockers were able to regain momentum with three straight kills late and eventually got the win, 26-24.
The Bulldogs were not able to regain their footing until the third set where they came away with a 28-26 win.
The comeback was short-lived, though, as the Shockers shut down the Bulldogs and took the final two sets.
On Saturday, Missouri State swept the Bulldogs in three straight sets.
“It was a tough match for us tonight against a very good team in Missouri State,” said head coach Darrin McBroom in a Drake athletics press release. “But there were some players that really impressed me. Kelly (Shute) had another great night for us after her performance last night. Katie (Allen) is really serving the ball well for us and Meredith (Moore) had some good swings tonight in the third set.”
Platte and Indurski had seven kills each for the Bulldogs on Saturday.
It was Schute’s second consecutive start and the freshman recorded three kills and five blocks.
In the first set, Missouri State opened on an 11-0 run over the Bulldogs. The Bears eventually won the first set, 25-15.
The Bulldogs continued to struggle against in sets two and three, losing both by scores of 25-16 and 25-18.
In the third set, the Bulldogs appeared livelier as McBroom inserted senior Meredith Moore and redshirt freshman Taylor Zant.
Moore was able to get one kill and one dig for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs dropped to 1-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference while the Bears are now 10-3.
Drake continues MVC play as the Bulldogsw travel to Evansville on Friday to take on the Purple Aces for the second time this season. Drake lost, 3-1, in the first meeting on Oct. 11 at the Knapp Center.
