Oct. 8, 2011

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD -

Missouri State hit .275 as a team and held Drake to an .064 attack efficiency and just 27 kills in three sets Saturday in a 25-14, 25-19, 25-13 Missouri Valley Conference volleyball victory at Hammons Student Center.

The Bears improved to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in the league with the win, moving alone into second place with Creighton's loss at Wichita State. Drake fell to 6-14 and 2-5 in MVC matches.

Missouri State jumped ahead 8-3 in the first set after Anna Burgess served three consecutive aces, and did not make an attack error until the score was 15-9 on the way to hitting .389 in the period. Drake got no closer than five points after that as Olivia Brand had five kills on six swings and Amber Doolittle had three kills and three blocks.

Brand finished with a match-high 13 kills and hit .407. Doolittle matched career highs with five blocks and four digs while her eight kills was a career best for a three-set match.

Drake took a 9-6 lead in the second set and the score was tied at each point from 10 to 15 before a 3-0 MSU run gave the Bears control. The Bulldogs cut the lead to two points at 21-19, but the Bears scored the final four points as Brand added six more kills. Missouri State had 24 digs in the set to hold Drake to .050 hitting.

Missouri State began the third set on a 6-0 run and took a nine-point lead as early as 13-4. A 4-0 run later on put the Bears ahead 22-9 as Drake hit -.029 to fall to .064 for the match. Calli Norman slammed six of her 11 kills in the third stanza and hit .588 in the match on the way to passing the 1,100 career kill mark.

Ashley Mason led the defense with 19 digs and Carly Thomas added 13 to go with 29 assists for her 12th double-double of the season. Burgess finished with four aces, the most for a Bear this season.

The Bears return to action Oct. 14 with a 7 p.m. match at Southern Illinois.