STORY BY ASHLEY BEALL
The Drake volleyball team traveled to Evansville on Friday and came out victorious. The Bulldogs decisively swept the Purple Aces, 25-15, 25-16 and 25-21.
Kyla Indurski continued her strong freshman campaign leading the Bulldogs with 11 kills and 11 digs.
Junior Katie Allen and freshman Kelly Shute also played well for the Bulldogs. Allen recorded five kills and four blocks, while Shute added five kills of her own to go along with three blocks.
Allen has consistently improved for the Bulldogs, and finished with a .455 hitting average. Schute finished with a .714 hitting percentage on the night.
“I think that we all did our jobs and our hitters and passers did well,” Shute said. “Everyone came in and took care of what needed to be done, and I think we had a lot of energy. We were tired of losing.”
The Bulldogs came out on the offensive in the first set and dominated Evansville.
The Purple Aces were forced to call a timeout as the Bulldogs took a 16-12 lead. It wasn’t enough for Evansville to gain any sort of momentum, though, as the Bulldogs closed the set, 25-15.
Drake only committed one attack error and registered a .351 team hitting percentage.
Drake carried its momentum into the second set, never letting Evansville get a lead.
The Bulldogs took the set, 25-16, behind sophomore Makena Schoene and Indurski’s three kills each, while sophomore Nicole Woods added four of her own.
The Bulldogs never faltered as they headed into the third set. Once again, they didn’t allow the Purple Aces the lead at any point and won, 25-21.
The three-set win on the road came after Evansville did the same thing to Drake on Oct. 11, sweeping the Bulldogs at the Knapp Center.
Drake stayed on the road, travelling to Southern Illinois on Saturday for more Missouri Valley Conference play.
The Bulldogs lost their momentum from the previous night, falling to the Salukis in three sets, 25-15, 25-20 and 25-19.
Schoene led Drake with 14 kills and two blocks. She finished with a .393 hitting percentage, but committed three attack errors.
Sophomore Chandelle Davidson registered 19 assists and six digs.Schute added another three kills and three assists.
“Our defense struggled a lot that night, so it was hard to run an offense,” Shute said. “But for our next game, we are really excited to get to work this week and improve and keep getting better.”
The Bulldogs are now 2-12 in MVC play with just four games left in the regular season.
They return home to host Indiana State Friday night, before Illinois State comes to town Saturday for senior night. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
