SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury came from two sets down to force a fifth set but fell short in a 3-2 loss to Rockhurst in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match on Saturday at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.

The Panthers fell to 12-6 and 6-3 in the GLVC while Rockhurst maintained their hold in the GLVC West Division going to 14-4 and 8-1 in the league.

Drury lost the first set 25-19, then the second 25-18. Drury won the third set 25-21 and nearly led wire-to-wire in the fourth set winning 25-19.

The Hawks scored the first three points of the final set and held off the Panthers for a 15-11 win.

"We started slow but I was proud of the girls the way we battled back," said head coach Jenifer Bahner. "I thought we played great volleyball in sets three and four. We earned those wins and we showed that we can compete against a high-level team like Rockhurst. Now comes the challenge of playing consistently…we made nine errors in that fifth set."

Bentley Mara led Drury with 15 kills. Brooke Antenen had 11 kills and 43 assists while McKenna Poynter had 32 digs. Morgan Rietzke led Rockhurst with 17 kills.

Drury steps out of conference to play in the GLVC / GLIAC Crossover tournament in Aurora, Illinois next weekend.

"One of the goals the girls set at the start of the season was to be seeded in the top half of the Crossover Tournament," said Bahner. "I'm proud we've accomplished that goal but that's put us in a position where we're going to have to earn our points. We'll be forced to take care of the ball a little more, be a little bit smarter with some of our shots and we'll be forced to compete more."

Play opens Friday at the event. The schedule will be announced mid-week.

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