DES MOINES, Iowa – Illinois State volleyball (4-9, 0-1 MVC) fell 0-3 at Drake (6-3, 1-0 MVC) on Friday night inside the Knapp Center to open Missouri Valley Conference play.
Drake jumped out to a five-point advantage early on in set one before the 'Birds were able to battle back to within one behind a pair of back-to-back service aces from senior Carley Nicholson. The Bulldogs would answer with a 5-1 run and their defense would never allow Illinois State back within two, going on to win set one, 25-20.
The Redbirds were on fire to start set two, going on a 5-0 run to start the set and force a Drake timeout. A series of ISU attacking errors allowed the Bulldogs to tie it up, however. After taking the lead, 11-10, Drake never relinquished their lead despite the Redbirds' best efforts and took a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 win.
Drake was able to complete the three-set win by finishing with 17 kills to ISU's 11 in the final set. The Bulldogs were led by four athletes who notched double-digit kills (Mariana Rodrigues, Haley Bush, Emily Plock & Ashlynn Kuhn), including Rodrigues who hit .364 on the night.
Tamara Otene and Sarah Kushner were the Redbirds' leaders offensively, each posting double-digit kills at 14 and 12, respectively. Kushner's 12 kills and 10 digs marked the eighth time this season and the second-straight match that she finished with a double-double.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Tamara Otene finished with a match-high 14 kills, hitting .278 on the night for her third-best hitting percentage of the season thus far.
- Carley Nicholson matched her career best for the eighth time, serving two aces against the Bulldogs.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH LEAH JOHNSON
On tonight's matchup against the Bulldogs:
"I think tonight's match was the fight that we all knew it would be. Drake is a great team and played great defensively tonight. At the end of the day, I know that no one is questioning our heart and we'll be back and ready for tomorrow night against UNI."
UP NEXT
The Redbirds will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, September 25 at Northern Iowa when they take on the Panthers at 5 p.m.
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