TOPEKA, Kan.- The 18th ranked Drury Panthers split their two matches on Saturday in the Washburn Invitational in Topeka, Kansas. Drury defeated Texas Women's University 3-1 and, for the third time in four games, lost in five sets in a 3-2 loss to Northwest Missouri State.
 
Drury picked up a win in their first match of the day with a 3-1 win over TWU. The Panthers broke a 1-1 tie with a dominating 25-14 win in the third set. Drury had to get to the 26th point in the fourth to close out the match but earned the win claiming six of the last nine points.
 
Reba Thomsen had 46 assists for Drury while Makina Wratten led the team with 15 kills and 3.5 blocks. Julia McCown added 12 kills, and Katie Gorman posted 20 digs.
 
The Panthers started their second game with a 26-24 win in the first set over Northwest Missouri State. Drury dropped the second and third sets but forced the match to a fifth set with a 25-17 win in the fourth. The fifth set was even at 8-8 when the Bearcats put up five unanswered points and closed the match with a 15-10 win.
 
McCown led Drury with 14 kills as three Panthers were in double-figures in that category. Wratten added 12 kills while Regan Dennis had 10. Thomsen had 39 assists, and Gorman produced 22 digs.
 
Northwest Missouri State's Hallie Sidney had a game-high 22 kills while Maddy Ahrens was credited with 55 assists.
 
Drury ended the season-opening Washburn Invitational tournament with a 1-3 record, but all three of their losses were decided in five sets.
 
The Panthers return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 10 when they travel to Missouri Southern St. for a 7 p.m. game in Joplin, Missouri. Drury opens their home schedule on Thursday, Sept. 12 against Colorado Mesa with a 6 p.m. game in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
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