EAST PEORIA, Ill.- The 14th ranked Drury Panthers advanced to the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament semifinals for the first time in program history with a 3-0 win (25-21, 28-26, 25-21) over McKendree on Thursday at the Eastside Centre in East Peoria, Illinois.
 
The Panthers, seeded second in the tournament, improved to 26-5 while seventh-seeded Bearcats ended their season with a 16-15 record.
 
Drury pulled away to win the opening set 25-21 and fought off a McKendree set-point in the second to prevail 28-26. With the scored tied at 10-10 in the third set, the Panthers grabbed eight of the next 11 points and held off the Bearcats to clinch the match with a 25-21 win in the third.
 
Senior Emmalee Chrest led a balanced Drury attack with 11 kills while sophomore Taylor Forth had two solo blocks, eight block assists, and nine kills. Kendra Sater chipped in with 33 assists.
 
Hope Gramly led McKendree with a game-high 16 kills.
 
Drury will play third-seeded Illinois Springfield in the semifinals on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
 
 
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