Boxscore (PDF)

DES MOINES (October 21, 2017)
 
In Short
Morgan Gresham pounded out a team-high 12 kills, hitting .379 (12-1-29) on the night, but it wasn't enough for Loyola University Chicago to overcome a potent Drake attack that received 17 kills from Cathryn Cheek en route to a 25-16, 25-18, 25-22 victory at Knapp Center tonight. The Ramblers slip to 1-20 overall and 0-10 in Missouri Valley Conference play with the loss, while Drake improves to 19-6 overall and 8-3 in MVC action.
 
How It Happened
Drake jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the first set before Loyola responded with a 6-2 run, punctuated by consecutive kills from Gresham, to get within 13-12. However, Cheek registered back-to-back stops to open up a 3-0 spurt that extended the Bulldogs' lead to 16-12 and Loyola would never get closer than three points the rest of the set as Drake rolled to a 25-16 win.
 
The Bulldogs hit .343 (17-5-35) in the second set and used that hot hitting to secure a 10-5 lead in the early going. Loyola chipped away at the deficit and a Heather Kocken service ace closed out a 4-1 Rambler run that closed the gap to 12-10. Three straight Bulldog points put Loyola in a five-point hole, but the Ramblers responded by tallying four of the next five points, two courtesy of Haley Hoffman blocks, to shave the Drake advantage to 16-14.  But, back-to-back Loyola errors triggered a set-closing 9-4 Bulldog run that gave the hosts a 25-18 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Loyola was the team that got off to the strong start in set three, opening up an 8-5 edge with a balanced attack that featured kills from four different players. That lead would be short-lived, however, and Kyla Inderski's kill touched off a 9-2 spurt as Drake gained control of the set and opened up a 14-10 lead. Trailing 18-12, Gresham almost single-handedly sparked the Ramblers to a miraculous comeback, posting five kills as part of a 9-2 Loyola run that was capped by a Hoffman block for a 21-20 lead. Drake answered right back though and two kills from Cheek highlighted a 4-0 Drake surge as the Bulldogs went on to earn a 25-22 victory.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• In addition to her match-high 17 kills, Cheek added 17 digs for Drake.
• Gabi Maciagowski pitched in six kills for Loyola, which also received 11 digs from Alex Nunez.
• Delilah Wolf just missed out on a double-double with 25 assists and nine digs.

 
Up Next
Loyola continues a four-match road trip when it visits Valparaiso on October 27.