DES MOINES, IOWA - The Sycamore Volleyball team could not recover from dropping the first two sets Friday night as the Drake Bulldogs held off a furious Indiana State comeback as ISU fell 1-3 (13-25,21-25, 25-23, 20-25) in a Missouri Valley Conference contest in the Knapp Center.
Indiana State dropped their second straight game and fell to 9-7 overall and 1-4 in the Valley with the loss. Drake improved to 6-11 overall and 2-3 in the MVC. The Sycamores play Saturday in Omaha, Neb., against a Creighton team (9-7, 4-0 MVC) who defeated Illinois State (9-8, 1-4 MVC) in four sets Friday 25-18, 26-24, 24-26, 25-20.
The Sycamores were able to rally from an early 2-0 deficit in the opening set to take a 4-2 lead on a kill by junior Shea Doran and three Drake errors but that advantage didn't last long. The Bulldogs came back with four straight of their own before momentum swung the other way with three straight ISU points. Indiana State's last lead came a6 8-7 but the set was tied four more times before an 8-0 Drake run put the set out of reach for the Sycamores and ISU lost the opener 25-14.
Indiana State led much of the early portion of the second set but could not hold on. The set was tied five times, the last at 18 before Drake pushed their lead to two points and held on for a 25-21 win.
Down two sets to none, the Sycamores fought back. Drake appeared to have the advantage and the opening to earn a sweep of the Sycamores with a 14-11 lead midway through the set. A Sycamore rally sparked by a Doran kill and a service ace by sophomore Monique Morris brought ISU back although they would not get the lead until 17-16 on a kill by sophomore Molly Murphy. A kill by senior Stacy Qualizza, a service ace from senior Shelbi Fouty, and a block by Murphy and Qualizza pushed the ISU lead to 20-16. The Sycamores were never headed after that and held on for a 25-23 win.
The momentum gained in the third set was lost early in the fourth set by the Sycamores who scored the first point of the set on a Morris kill but could not lead again. Drake scored six straight points to open up a 6-1 lead to maintain the advantage the rest of the set. ISU did rally to within two, 19-17, on another Morris kill but that would be as close as ISU would get, dropping the set 25-20 and the game three sets to one.
Morris led Indiana State with 14 kills while Qualizza added 11, Doran 10 and Murphy six. Sophomore Loni Mackinson had 23 assists with Fouty also contributing 17. Morris also had 22 digs while a trio of Sycamores had 16 including Mackinson, Fouty, and senior Kiya James. Doran and Qualizza had three blocks each.
