SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury volleyball maintained its mid-season momentum with a straight-set victory over Missouri Southern (25-23, 25-20, 25-21) to open a three-match home stand Tuesday evening at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Led by a double-double from Mailie Chretien (13 kills, 11 digs) and Ella Rademaker's 19 kills and .389 hitting percentage, the Panthers (13-7) notched their fifth victory in their last six contests. In its first home match since Sept. 27, DU rallied from a 17-13 first-set deficit, claiming 12 of the final 18 points of the set to pull out a 25-23 decision.
The Panthers wiped out an early Lions (8-13) lead in the second as well, taking control with a 10-3 scoring run and never looking back. After posting a 25-20 second-set win, Drury never trailed in the third, holding off a late MSSU charge for the 25-21 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Drury seized control of a back-and-forth opening set that featured 12 ties and three lead changes; Rademaker led DU with six kills in the first set, while Chretien added five in the comeback win for the Panthers.
- DU overcame .308 hitting by the Lions in the first set, as MSSU led by as many as four points, with Addysen Alvis registering five kills on .455 hitting.
- The Panthers delivered 24 service attempts without an error and two aces in the opener.
- After MSSU grabbed an early 3-1 advantage in the second, the Panthers responded by winning five of the next six points to take the lead for good; Rademaker accounted for a pair of kills and Skylar Hilton added one of her seven kills on the night to turn the tide in DU's favor.
- Leading 7-6, DU reeled off four straight points, sparked by a pair of Chretien kills.
- The Panthers stretched their lead to as many as six points, with Rademaker once again leading the attack with seven kills in the set.
- Drury hit a red-hot .444 in the second stanza -- its best hitting percentage in a set since a .515 third set vs. Thomas More last Friday.
- In the third, the Panthers won three of the first four points and were never seriously threatened until late in the set when the Lions used a 6-2 scoring spurt to close the gap to 22-20.
- But the Panthers withstood the challenge, using a key kill by Hilton and a pair of MSSU errors to close out the victory.
NOTABLES
- Rademaker's total of 19 kills was just one shy of her Drury career best (20 vs. McKendree on Sept. 27).
- Additionally, her .389 hitting marked her top effort in a match in 12 matches, dating back to Sept. 13 vs. East Central, when she hit .440.
- Chretien logged her third consecutive double-double and her fifth of the season, which leads the team.
- Both Lauren Tyler (21 assists, 9 digs) and Jacy Bray (21 assists, 8 digs) narrowly missed racking up double-doubles as well.
- Hilton turned in another efficient effort with seven kills, a .385 hitting percentage and three blocks.
- With its fourth straight win over the Lions dating back to 2021, DU has now six of its seven home matches at The O' this season.
- Coupled with their .331 attack percentage vs. Northwood (Oct. 18) in their last outing, the Panthers have now hit .300 or better as a team in back-to-back contests for the first time in 2025.
- After going 11 straight contests without topping the .300 hitting mark, Sept. 12-Oct. 9, DU has done so in three of its last four outings.
UP NEXT
Drury returns to GLVC action Friday (Oct. 24) when it hosts Quincy for a 6 p.m. contest at O'Reilly.
For all the latest information on Drury volleyball, visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.
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