ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Despite battling throughout its two see-saw contests against Henderson State and Pittsburg State, Drury volleyball saw its six-match win streak end with a pair of setbacks on the final day of the Bettye Wallace Classic at Duke Wells Center.

In Saturday's opening match, Henderson State built a 2-0 advantage, limiting the Panthers to .096 hitting through the first two sets. After Drury pulled out a hard-fought 25-23 third-set decision to extend the contest, the Reddies prevailed in a nip-and-tuck fourth set to seal the outcome (25-22). Katilyn Steffes led HSU with an 18-kill, 18-dig effort, while Tyhia Mack turned in a double-double of her own with 20 assists and 10 digs.
 
In their tournament finale against Pittsburg State, the Panthers (7-4) claimed an opening set win, before the Gorillas rebounded to take three consecutive tightly-contested sets for the 3-1 victory. 

Ella Radamaker led the Panthers with 32 kills on the day, including a Drury career-best 17 against Pittsburg State. Mailie Chretien added a double-double (10 kills, 13 digs) against the Gorillas, while Lauren Tyler made history by becoming just the 10th player in Drury history to top the 2,000-assist milestone for her career.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The host Reddies used a 7-1 run to seize the lead in the opening set, then added some distance between themselves and the Panthers with a 7-3 spurt after DU had sliced the margin to 12-10.
• Drury engineered a run of its own to climb back into the set, pulling to within two points at 24-22, before an attack error on set point allowed HSU to withstand the Panthers' rally attempt.
• Henderson State hit .231 in the opening stanza, while holding the Panthers to .175 hitting.
• Chaney Barth led the Panthers with seven kills and seven digs in the opening set.
• The Panthers grabbed an early 3-1 lead in the second set, only to see a 5-0 Reddies spurt swing the momentum in favor of the home club.
• HSU ultimately reeled off 10 of 11 points to seize an 11-4 advantage.
• Drury rallied to trim the margin to two points on five separate occasions, paced by Rademaker's three kills and two blocks in the set.
• But the Reddies never relinquished the lead, extending their cushion to as many as seven points before securing the 25-20 decision.
• The Panthers trailed by three early in the third set, but the serving of Tyler (two aces) and three more kills by Rademaker keyed an 8-0 that gave DU an 11-6 lead.
• Henderson State battled back behind Steffe's six kills, drawing even at 21-21 in the late stages of the set.
• It would be Drury's turn to withstand a rally this time, as Rademaker put the Panthers on top, before kills by Tyler and Skylar Hilton closed out the 25-23 decision.
• The fourth set featured another see-saw battle that included seven ties before back-to-back kills by HSU's Kelis Battles gave the Reddies the upper hand for good.
• Steffes, Battles and Cassidi Campbell combined for 12 of the Reddies 13 fourth-set kills to help secure the 25-21 deciding stanza. 
• Against Pittsburg State, the Panthers found themselves in another tightly-contested matchup, with neither club building a lead of more than three points in the opening set.
• Trailing 20-18, Drury rallied to claim eight of the next 12 points in a 26-24 win; Rademaker delivered six kills and a block, as DU hit a blistering .361 for the set.
• Back came Pitt State to even things up in the second, as the Gorillas wiped out a six-point DU lead with an 8-2 outburst.
• PSU pulled away down the stretch, ultimately claiming 16 of the final 21 points of the set.
• In the third, the Gorillas built a 10-7 lead, then rode a 6-2 spurt to a six-point edge.
• DU clawed its way back, winning five straight points and eight of nine overall to claim a 19-17 lead.
• But the Gorillas finished on a high note, despite six Rademaker kills in the set; with PSU on top with set point, Julia Hicks closed out the set with a kill for the 26-24 decision.
• The deciding fourth set followed a familiar pattern as the two clubs went head to head, playing to a 19-19 tie before PSU claimed six of the final eight points, punctuated by another Hicks kill to end the match.

NOTABLES

• Rademaker led Drury with 15 kills to go along with four blocks and a .294 hitting percentage in the opener, before logging 17 kills, nine kills and three blocks against PSU.
• Jacy Bray recorded a double-double vs. HSU, finishing with 23 assists and 18 digs; Barth registered a double-double as well with 12 kills and 13 digs.
• Tyler added 27 assists in the opening match to surpass the 2,000-assist plateau for her Drury career; she chipped in with eight digs and three service aces as well.
• DU's six-match win streak marked its longest since Oct. 14-22, 2022.

UP NEXT
Drury returns to Springfield next weekend to open Great Lakes Valley Conference play with a Friday (Sept. 26) evening match against Missouri-St. Louis (6 p.m.) and a Saturday (Sept. 27) afternoon meeting with McKendree (3 p.m.) at O'Reilly Family Event Center.

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

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