DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State put up a valiant effort against the Drake Bulldogs in their Missouri Valley Conference opener, but fell in a five-set heartbreaker on Friday.
 
The Sycamores and Drake went back and forth throughout the evening, but ultimately the Bulldogs took the match, 3-2 [21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 26-28, 15-9].
 
Despite the outcome, ISU once again asserted their commitment to defense. Three Sycamores tallied over 20 digs en route to a total of 111. Libero Melina Tedrow led the way with 27, while freshmen Gretchen Kuckkan and Taylor Shelton finished with 23 and 22, respectively.
 
The trio of Nikkie White, Madeline Williams and Cassie Kawa dominated the net, with White earning nine block assists, Williams earning six and one solo block and Kawa tallying seven. In all, Indiana State gathered 15 total blocks.
 
Drake ended the match with 93 digs and 14 total blocks. They were led by Kylee Macke with 29 digs.
 
Offensively, White and Williams led the offensive attack with 16 and 15 kills of the Trees' 60, respectively. Freshman setter Chloe Mason continued be a leader in the assist category, finishing with 27 on the night.
 
Mason ended the night with her seventh career double-double, tallying 15 digs to go along with her 27 assists.
 
The Bulldogs were led offensively by Haley Bush who attacked the net well with 25 kills. As a team, Drake recorded 58 kills and hit .147 compared to ISU's .101.
 
Set One - Indiana State 25, Drake 21

• The Sycamores came out strong in set one, finishing with 13 kills and hitting .243.
• Williams led the offensive effort for the blue and white with six kills in the frame while Mason earned seven assists.
• ISU finished with 20 digs on the frame with Tedrow earning six and Kuckkan recording four.
• The Trees also recorded an impressive eight block assists, led by Kawa with three.
• The Bulldogs finished with 18 digs and no blocks during the set while hitting .267.

 
Set Two - Drake 25, Indiana State 16

• The Bulldogs used an 8-0 run midway through the set to pull away from the Sycamores.
• Mason tallied six digs in the set to lead ISU.
• The Trees struggled offensively, hitting .000 on the set. White finished with the most kills in the set at five.
• As a team, ISU recorded 20 digs, four more blocks and 10 kills.
• Drake tallied 10 kills as well while hitting .154.

 
Set Three - Drake 25, Indiana State 21

• Shelton had a big defensive set for the blue and white, finishing with six digs in the frame. Kuckkan also recorded six digs.
• The Sycamores finished with 22 digs in set three as well as three more total blocks.
• Offensively, Indiana State recorded 12 kills while hitting .117 compared to Drake's 14 kills and .182 hitting percentage.
• White was the leader attacking the net as she earned three kills.

 
Set Four - Indiana State 28, Drake 26

• A solid defensive frame for the Sycamores helped push them past Drake. ISU tallied 36 digs and five total blocks.
• Mason, Shelton and Tedrow all pushed their dig total past 20.
• White recorded five kills and Kawa was close behind with four.
• Mason added seven assists to her total.
• In total, Indiana State ended the frame with 18 kills compared to Drake's 10.

 
Set Five - Drake 15, Indiana State 9

• Drake had their strongest offensive frame of the night in the fifth, earning seven kills and hitting .286.
• The Sycamores also tallied seven kills, but hit just .069.
• ISU added 13 digs and one total block to their total.

 
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