Drake Wins Two of Three

It’s mid-October. The Missouri Valley Conference is much stronger in 2018. Teams are playing their best volleyball. Every match is going to be a challenge. Nonetheless, the Drake volleyball team won two of three contests last week to improve to 16-7 overall and 5-4 in MVC play..

Drake opened the week with a 25-13, 14-25, 25-18, 25-19 victory over Indiana State on Oct. 8.

The first three sets of the match went to whomever took control first.

In the opening set, three Elle Tubbs kills, one from Natalie Fry, a Callan Holmes/Fry block and a Riley Dolphin ace helped the Bulldogs out to a 6-1 lead which they grew from there.

The Sycamores stormed out to a 8-2 advantage in the second set on kills from Laura Gross, Madeline Williams and Cassie Kawa and blocks from Melina Tedrew/Williams, Rhiannon Morozoff/Kawa and two from the combination of Nikkie White/Kawa. A Tubbs kill brought Drake to within 13-12, but Williams answered with a kill to give ISU the advantage for good.

Two Cheek kills and one from Plock went along with three Indiana State errors to make for a 6-1 start to the third set.

Set four had eight ties through its first two-thirds and a Kawa kill brought the Sycamores to within 20-19. But two kills from Cheek and two aces from Tubbs along with an ISU attack error clinched the match for Drake.

Drake hit .231 to Indiana State’s .225.

Cheek and Holmes had career highs in kills with 23 and 16, respectively. Paige Aspinwall had a career-high 53 assists.

Statistical leaders were: kills – Cheek 23, Holmes 16, Aspinwall 12, Plock eight, Tubbs seven, Fry five and Dolphin one; assists – Aspinwall 53, Kylee Macke three and Tubbs and Cheek one; aces – Tubbs two and Dolphin one: blocks – Tubbs three and Fry, Holmes, Aspinwall and Cheek two; digs – Macke 21, Cheek 14, Holmes 12, Aspinwall seven, Plock six, Madi Ford five, Tubbs, Fry and Danielle Pioske three and Dolphin two; points – Cheek 24.5, Holmes 17, Tubbs 10.5, Plock eight, Fry six and Dolphin two.

Drake’s eighth weekend of the season was spent on the road starting with a 25-21. 25-23, 30-28 loss to defending MVC champ Missouri State on Oct. 12.

The first set had five ties on the way to 7-7 where two kills from Layine Dake and one from Chloe Rear gave MSU a lead they would maintain until kills from Amelia Flynn and Ashley Ophoven and an attack error gave Missouri State control for the rest of the set.

Set two had 10 ties to 14. Two Ophoven kills and a block from her and one from MacKenzie Irwin/Rear made for an 18-14 score. Three Plock kills, one from Holmes and a bad MSU set gave Drake a 19-18 lead. Missouri State regained control and although a Cheek kill tied the score at 23, a Dake/Flynn block and an Emily Butters ace gave MSU the set.

Consecutive kills from Fry (two) and Cheek helped the Bulldogs jump out to a 5-2 start in the third set. MSU came back for a 6-6 score then a Missouri State attack error, a Plock/Tubbs block and a Plock kill again giving Drake a small advantage. An Irwin/Aubrey Chaffey block tied the score at 11 and nine ties followed on the way to 23-23. Cheek gave the Bulldogs set point with a kill, but two Ophoven kills gave MSU set point.

Ophoven then traded kills with Cheek and Plock (twice). Cambree Villarreal’s kill gave Missouri State a 28-27 lead. An attack error tied the score, but a Villarreal kill and a Chaffey/Irwin block earned MSU the match victory.

Drake hit .077 to Missouri State’s .156.

Statistical leaders for Drake were: kills – Cheek 11, Tubbs nine, Fry and Plock seven, Holmes six and Aspinwall one; assists – Aspinwall 38 and Cheek, Macke and Pioske one; aces – Ford one; digs – Macke 16, Pioske and Ford nine, Aspinwall and Holmes four, Plock two and Fry one; points – Cheek 13.5, Tubbs 11, Fry 10, Plock 9.5, Holmes 6.5, Aspinwall 1.5 and Ford one.

The Bulldogs ended the week with a 25-14, 25-23, 25-11 victory over Southern Illinois on Oct. 13.

Drake trailed only once total in the first and third sets, but set two was a battle as kills from Alayna Martin, two kills from Patience Brown and an attack error gave SIU a 16-13 advantage. The Bulldogs battled back and took a 19-18 lead on an attack error. Southern Illinois knotted things at 20 with a Martin/Lindsey Paulsen block, but a missed serve gave Drake the lead for the rest of the set.

Drake hit .234 to so SIU’s .120.

Statistical leaders for Drake were: kills – Cheek 16, Plock eight, Tubbs, Fry and Holmes six and Aspinwall three; assists – Aspinwall 25, Ford and Caitlyn Smith three and Cheek and Macke two; aces – Cheek four and Fry and Aspinwall one; blocks – Fry five, Plock four and Cheek two; digs – Macke 18, Aspinwall and Cheek nine, Pioske six, Ford five, Holmes four, Plock three and Tubbs, Dolphin and Smith one; points – Cheek 31.5, Plock 10, Fry 9.5, Tubbs and Holmes six and Aspinwall four.