SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Central Missouri built a two-sets-to-none lead, then withstood a late comeback bid by Drury volleyball, edging the Panthers in four sets (18-25, 23-25, 27-25, 23-25) Tuesday evening in non-conference action at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
The visiting Jennies (17-6) won a pair of back-and-forth sets to open the contest, before Drury (14-11) bounced back to claim a third set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes. UCM then rallied from an 19-11 deficit in the fourth set, closing out the victory by winning the final five points of the contest.
Ella Rademaker recorded a match-high 18 kills, including eight in the fourth set, while Lauren Tyler (30 assists/19 digs) and Mailie Chretien (14 kills/16 digs) registered double-doubles to lead the Panthers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In a tightly-contested first set, UCM seized control by winning three straight points, turning a 15-13 advantage into a five-point margin.
- The Jennies ultimately used a 6-2 scoring run to extend their lead to six, then claimed four of the next six points to close out the 25-18 decision.
- Emma Siron's five kills and .625 hitting led the way for the Jennies, who hit .455 as a team in the opening set.
- Drury bounced back with a strong start to the second, claiming eight of the first 12 points of the set.
- Rademaker and Chretien fueled the early spurt with a two kills apiece for the Panthers.
- But UCM charged back, wiping out a 10-8 DU lead by winning five consecutive points.
- Siron accounted for three of those points en route to another five-kill effort in the set.
- Drury responded by claiming three straight points of its own, then erased another three-point deficit, pulling even at 19-19 on a combined block by Abby Renshaw and Skylar Hilton.
- Back-to-back Rademaker kills handed DU a 22-21 lead, but Shaye Koski delivered back-to-back kills to spark a 3-0 Jennies run, then closed out the win with her seventh kill of the set (25-23).
- Drury turned in a strong defensive effort to take the third set, holding the Jennies to .102 hitting.
- The third stanza followed a similar pattern to the second, as neither club led by more than three points in a set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes.
- With UCM leading 16-13, DU won four straight points to take the lead, thanks to two more Chretien kills.
- One of Tyler's three kills on the night handed the Panthers the first of three set points; an attack error by the Jennies ultimately gave DU the victory (27-25).
- In the fourth, Drury jumped on top with an 11-3 outburst to start the set, as Rademaker accounted for four kills on the Panthers' first seven points.
- The Panthers maintained their advantage until Kayla Baer's kill at 19-11 sparked a stretch that would see the Jennies outscore DU 13-4 down the stretch.
- Rademaker and Chretien combined for 12 kills in the set, and the Drury defense limited UCM to .143 hitting.
- Koski led the Jennies with 18 kills, matching Rademaker for match-high honors.
NOTABLES
- The contest featured a combined 25 ties and 12 lead changes.
- After allowing .301 hitting over the first two sets, the Panthers limited UCM to a combined .121 hitting percentage over the final two sets.
- Rademaker recorded her eighth-straight double-digit kill total dating back to Oct. 17.
- Kim Quinit registered a career-high 27 digs for the Panthers.
- Chretien logged her team-leading ninth double-double of the season with her 14 kills and 16 digs.
- Phoebe Riddle hit .400 for the night and tallied seven kills to go along with five blocks.
- Tyler recorded her fifth double of the year, finishing with 30 assists and 19 digs, as well as three kills and a block assist.
- She hiked her career assist total to 2,391, moving into the No. 8 position on the Panthers' all-time list by passing Julie Coble (2,389).
- Hilton finished with seven kills, while logging four blocks to run her season total to 90.
- Renshaw turned in a career-best four blocks to go along with her six kills.
- Drury fell to 6-4 at O'Reilly Family Event Center this season.
UP NEXT
Drury will open its final GLVC home set Friday evening with a 6 p.m. match against Maryville. The Panthers will honor their six seniors prior to Saturday's home finale with Missouri S&T, which is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
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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