SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Riding a three-match win streak to close the regular season, Drury volleyball makes its return to postseason play this weekend at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Volleyball Championship in Williamsville, Ill. The No. 7 Panthers will open the postseason with a quarterfinal matchup against second-seeded Rockhurst Friday (Nov. 21) evening at 5:30 p.m. inside Williamsville High School Fieldhouse.
Making their first GLVC Tournament appearance since 2019 following a 7-6 league showing, the Panthers (17-12, 7-6 GLVC) turned in their longest conference win streak of the season to secure their spot in the postseason. Drury posted a 3-1 Senior Day win over Missouri S&T (Nov. 8) to kick off the streak, then swept two additional four-set road victories over Lewis (Nov. 14) and Indianapolis (Nov. 15) to tie Truman for sixth place in the conference standings and lock up its 11th GLVC Tournament berth.
Rockhurst (20-9, 11-2 GLVC) earned the No. 2 seed by virtue of its 11-2 league record, including a tie-breaking win against Quincy in early October. The Hawks will be making their 20th appearance in the GLVC Tournament, with three titles -- 2012, 2018 and 2019 -- to their credit.
Each of the four quarterfinal winners from Friday, Nov. 21 will advance to the semifinal round, which will include 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. matches on Saturday (Nov. 22). The winners of the semifinal matches will face each other on Sunday (Nov. 23) at Noon (CST) for the 2025 GLVC Volleyball Championship.
For the second consecutive season, all GLVC Championship Tournament action will be streamed for $15 per match or $25 for the full tournament on GLVCSN.com, the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, and GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. As was the case the past two season, all spectators attending in person will be required to pre-purchase tickets online, which can be done at GLVCsports.com/tickets. For further information regarding the Conference Championship Tournament, visit GLVCsports.com/2025volleyball.
SERIES AND TOURNAMENT HISTORY
- Drury brings a 16-52 all-time record against Rockhurst into Friday's contest.
- The Hawks have claimed the last six meetings in the series after their straight-sets victory over the Panthers on Oct. 3 in Kansas City.
- In the season's first meeting of the two squads, the Hawks limited the Panthers to .113 hitting, while Sarah Pyle registered 13 kills to lead Rockhurst to victory in its 2025 home opener.
- Drury's last win against Rockhurst occurred on Oct. 1, 2021 in Springfield (3-2).
- Under head coach Jenifer Bahner-Hill, DU is 5-13 against the Hawks.
- In 10 previous GLVC Tournament trips, the Panthers have compiled a cumulative 3-10 record, with their best showing coming in 2018, when they won a pair of matches to advance to the title game before losing a 3-1 decision to Rockhurst.
- This year's appearance marks the Panthers' fifth under Bahner-Hill, who has a 2-4 combined mark in her four trips to the GLVC Tournament as DU's head coach (2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019).
OPENING STORYLINES
- In her 12 seasons as head coach at Drury, Bahner-Hill (2014-present) has registered 174 career victories, which ranks second in DU history behind Barbara Cowherd's 487 wins as head coach of the Panthers (1980-99).
- Ella Rademaker leads the Panthers with 391 kills entering the tournament, which is the top single-season total for a Drury player since 2018, when Bentley Mara (439) and Emmalee Chrest (426) both topped the 400-kill plateau.
- Rademaker has totaled 1,438 kills over 115 career matches, which puts her at No. 5 among all active NCAA Division II players and No. 1 on the GLVC's active list.
- Dating back to Oct. 17, Rademaker has recorded 12 straight double-digit kill totals.
- Lauren Tyler brings a career total of 2,477 assists into Friday's match, good for the No. 8 position on Drury's all-time assist chart and just 23 shy of the 2,500 mark.
- Mailie Chretien logged her team-leading 11th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 15 digs last Saturday at UIndy.
- Chretien brings a career-best 296 kills on the season into the tournament and, with 337 digs to her credit this fall, has the chance to become the first DU player to record 300 kills and 300 digs in the same season since Mara (439 kills/320 digs) in 2018.
- Jacy Bray registered 24 assists and 14 digs last Friday at Lewis to give her nine double-doubles in her first season as a Panther, while extending her streak of consecutive double-digit assist performances to 22 in a row (since Sept. 12).
- Drury posted its 17th victory of the season Saturday at UIndy, giving the Panthers their best win total since 2021 (20).
- Payton Mitchell logged a career-best 36 digs in last Friday's contest at Lewis, then recorded 17 more Saturday at UIndy, giving the senior 107 digs in her last five matches after compiling just 55 total digs in Drury's first 24 contests of the season.
- On Monday, Mitchell was named GLVC Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Panther to earn a GLVC weekly honor since Kayli Duncan was tabbed for the same honor on Sept. 16, 2024.
- Skylar Hilton's team-leading total of 113 blocks represents the most by a Drury freshman under Bahner-Hill (since 2014); her total is the best by a Panther rookie since Elizabeth Bunch's 116 in 2001, and trails Stacey Tyson's (149 in 1992) DU freshman record by 36 blocks.
- Drury ranks third in the GLVC and 19th nationally in total kills (1,471), paced by Rademaker's team-leading 391 -- good for fourth among all GLVC hitters and 26th nationally.
- Hilton's 113 blocks rank third in the GLVC, while Phoebe Riddle (108) ranks seventh in the same category.
- The Panthers also rank third in the conference and 23rd nationally in digs (1,892) and third in the GLVC (26th nationally) in total blocks (239.5).
- Tyler's 45 service aces rank third in the GLVC, while her 658 assists rank eighth in the circuit.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
- Drury returns 13 letterwinners from last season's 14-13 team that posted an eight-win turnaround from 2023.
- DU won six of its first eight matches last fall, matching its best start to a season since 2018.
- Chretien led the Panthers with 269 kills (2.54 per set), while fellow senior Kyla Clubb contributed 202 (2.24 per set) for last year's squad; Clubb added 46 blocks as well to rank third on the team.
- Kim Quinit led the Panthers with her average of 4.05 digs per set as a freshman last fall, while Chretien added 3.80 per set; the duo of sophomore Jenna LaBarge and Mitchell chipped in with averages of 2.71 and 2.55 digs per set in 2024.
- Mary Henry and Riddle also return for the Panthers, forming DU's veteran senior corps along with Chretien, Clubb and Mitchell.
- Tyler, a junior setter, paced DU in assists last season, tallying 9.17 per set to rank seventh among all GLVC performers.
- Additionally, junior Grace Gardner made 22 starts for DU last fall, totaling 136 kills, 85 digs, 73 assists and 43 blocks, while sophomores Emerson Grossman, Gracie Kimrey, Kennedy Outler and Abby Renshaw earned playing time as freshmen in 2024.
- In addition to its corps of returners, Drury welcomes eight newcomers to the mix, led by transfers Chaney Barth (Francis Marion), Bray (UT Arlington) and Rademaker (SBU).
- Freshmen Megan Howard, Alyssa Lindemann, Caroline Red, Amelia White, Hannah Williams and Hilton make up a talented and deep class of newcomers and could give Bahner-Hill additional options throughout the fall.
- Drury also turned in a strong 2024-25 year in the classroom, as 12 Panthers were named Academic All-GLVC, paced by Chretien and Mitchell, who each earned CSC Academic All-District recognition at the conclusion of the season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers will continue their quest for their first GLVC Volleyball Championship, with the tournament slated to run through Sunday (Nov. 22) in Williamsville. The 2025 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship bracket will be revealed during a selection show on Monday, Nov. 24, live streamed on NCAA.com. Twenty-three teams will earn automatic qualification to the tournament, which will run Dec. 4 through Dec. 13, with the remaining 41 teams selected at-large by the Division II Women's Volleyball Committee.
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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