SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- The Drury Panthers won their eighth straight match and moved into sole possession of first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with a 3-1 win over 12th ranked Rockhurst in Weiser Gym on Saturday.
 
Drury improved to 13-7 and 7-0 in the GLVC while the Hawks had their 11-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-4 and 6-1 in the league.
 
The Panthers won the opening set 25-17, but Rockhurst responded with a 25-19 win in the second. Drury pulled away to a 25-16 win in the third set and closed out the match with a 25-20 win the fourth. Bellarmine's win over sixth-ranked Lewis on Saturday gave the Flyers their first loss in the league and moved the Panthers to the top of the conference standings.
 
Regan Dennis led Drury with 17 kills while Julia McCown added 16. The Panthers recorded 12.5 blocks in the four-set match as Makina Wratten had eight block assists, Evan Larson recorded six block assists and seven different Drury players contributed a solo block or a block assist in the contest. Senior Paige Perry added 16 digs in the win.
 
"What we talked about between the second and third set was re-establishing our block and our back-court defense," said Drury head coach Jenifer Bahner. "I knew we had the attackers to give us some points; we just needed that extra touch on the block so that it slowed the ball down enough so our defense could make some plays. Paige Perry had a phenomenal game and kept some balls in play, and she kept giving us some extra opportunities."
 
The Panthers return to action with the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament on Oct. 18-19 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Drury will enter the event as the number one team in the GLVC and will face the first and second place programs from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the two-day event. Pairings for the tournament will be announced early next week. 
 
 
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