Chretien Rademaker Henry
Josh Clark, Drury Sports Communications
2
Drury Drury 14-10,4-5 GLVC
3
Winner Truman St. TSU 11-14,6-4 GLVC
Drury Drury
14-10,4-5 GLVC
2
Final
3
Truman St. TSU
11-14,6-4 GLVC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Drury Drury 25 22 25 32 9 (2)
Truman St. TSU 22 25 14 34 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Eric Doennig, Associate AD - Media Relations

Panthers Drop Five-Set Heartbreaker at Truman

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Truman State rallied from a two-sets-to-one deficit against Drury volleyball, as the Bulldogs pulled out a marathon fourth set, then sealed the victory with a strong defensive effort in the fifth to notch a 3-2 victory over the Panthers Saturday afternoon at Pershing Arena. 

Ella Rademaker recorded a match-high 24 kills to go along with 11 digs, while Mailie Chretien (14 kills/23 digs) and Jacy Bray (30 assists/19 digs) also logged double-doubles to lead the Panthers (14-10, 4-5 GLVC).

Truman State (11-14, 6-4 GLVC) overcame a strong start by Drury, which claimed a 25-22 opening set win, then ran away with a 25-14 decision in the third to seize the upper hand. But the Bulldogs claimed a 34-32 win in the fourth after DU negated seven set points in a back-and-forth set that featured 18 ties and eight lead changes. The home club pulled out a 15-9 fifth-set win to seal the outcome, using a 5-1 scoring run to take control for good.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Drury started strong to take the opening set after rallying from an 18-15 deficit with a 7-1 scoring spurt.
  • The Panthers then withstood a Bulldogs' comeback bid to post a 25-22 decision, as Rademaker paced the DU offense with seven first-set kills.
  • Truman won three straight points to pull even at 22-22, but Rademaker delivered back-to-back kills to close out the set after a Skylar Hilton kill put the Panthers on top to stay.
  • The home club flipped the scoreboard in the second set, as the Bulldogs wiped out a 5-2 Drury lead by taking six of the next seven points.
  • Micaela Goad registered six of her team-high 17 kills in the second, with Truman turning in its best hitting percentage of the afternoon (.333) in the 25-22 decision.
  • Led by Abby Renshaw's six kills and .857 hitting, the Panthers responded with a decisive 25-14 win in the third.
  • DU turned in its best set of the day, hitting .412 as a team.
  • The fourth set proved to be pivotal to the outcome, with Drury building an early 9-3 lead thanks to a 7-1 scoring run, highlighted by a pair of Rademaker kills.
  • But the Bulldogs climbed back into the set, using a 15-7 run to erase the DU advantage and claim an 18-16 edge.
  • Drury answered with a run of its own to pull even at 23-23 before a Laci Neece kill gave TSU the first of its eight set points.
  • The Panthers countered each Bulldog opportunity to even the contest, twice earning set points of their own.
  • But Truman answered each of those, then -- at 32-32 -- finally cashed in with back-to-back kills from Tori Creason and Neece to claim the 34-32 momentum-swinging win.
  • Rademaker delivered for the Panthers once again, racking up eight kills and a pari of blocks in the fourth.
  • Drury gained the upper hand early in the fifth, claiming the first two points, only to see the Bulldogs win nine of the next 12 points to build a five-point cushion.
  • The Panthers won back-to-back points to slice the deficit in half, but that's as close as they would get, with a pair of Neece kills highlighting a closing 6-2 run for the Bulldogs.

NOTABLES

  • The contest featured a combined 34 ties and 13 lead changes.
  • Rademaker recorded her seventh-straight double-digit kill total dating back to Oct. 17, as well as her second double-double as a Panther.
  • Chretien logged her team-leading eighth double-double of the season, and Bray notched her seventh while extending her streak of consecutive double-digit assist performances to 17 in a row (since Sept. 12).
  • Chretien also matched her 2025 season-best dig total (23), just one shy of her Drury career high.
  • Hilton turned in 12 kills on a team-best .333 hitting percentage, adding five blocks to her season total (86).
  • Renshaw added 10 kills for her fourth double-digit match total of 2025.
  • Drury fell to 4-3 in true road contests this season and 8-7 overall away from O'Reilly Family Event Center in 2025.

UP NEXT
Drury returns to O'Reilly Family Event Center to open its final home stand of the season with a Tuesday (Nov. 4) non-conference contest against Central Missouri at 6 p.m.

For all the latest information on Drury volleyball, visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.

#OneDrury

Print Friendly Version