SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury started their Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule with a win and did it in their 2016 home debut with a 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-16, 25-19) over Wisconsin-Parkside at the O'Reilly Family Event Center on Friday night.

Drury improved to 6-3 and went to 1-0 in the GLVC. The win was their fourth straight. UW-Parkside dropped to 1-9 and 0-1 in the conference.

The Panthers trailed 9-4 in the opening set but battled back to tie it at 11-11. Drury edged the Rangers 25-23 in the first set and kept the momentum to win the second set by nine points and the third by six.

"We started a slow and I think we were dealing with some anxiousness and nerves playing our first game at home," said Panthers head coach Jenifer Bahner. "It took us a few points to settle in but once we did we played with more confidence and found our rhythm better. The girls did a good job on holding on to that and carrying it into the second and third sets."

Drury featured a balanced attack as three players, Bentley Mara, Tori Foster and Kendra Sater each had nine kills while Brooke Antenen added eight. Three Panthers were also in double-figures in digs as Emmalee Chrest and 13, Antenen registered 12 and Poynter had 10.

The Panthers are home again on Saturday afternoon. Drury hosts a nationally ranked Lewis team at 3 p.m. at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.

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