SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury volleyball wraps up a three-match home stand Tuesday (Oct. 27) when it hosts Pittsburg State for a 6 p.m., non-conference contest at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
The Panthers (17-6, 7-2 GLVC) will ride a three-match win streak into their final non-conference test of the season after sweeping Truman State and Upper Iowa in GLVC play over the weekend. Drury has matched its 2025 season overall (17) and conference (7) win totals and rose three spots to No. 9 in this week's edition of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball NPI Midwest Region rankings.
Pitt State (19-6, 4-4 MIAA) will bring an eight-match win streak into Tuesday's contest following road MIAA victories over (RV) Central Missouri and Missouri Southern over the weekend. The Gorillas ranked 12th among all Central Region teams in this week's NPI release.
Fans may follow the action through the GLVC Sports Network (subscription required), where tournament games will be streamed live throughout the weekend. Once again throughout the 2026-27 academic year, viewing access to live broadcasts from GLVC regular-season and postseason contests will be available via monthly subscription ($32) or annual subscription ($145). Single-event access can also be purchased for $15, and students of GLVC member institutions can save 10-percent on single-game PPV access, monthly subscriptions, and Full Year Access Passes by entering the promotional code "GLVC@EDU27" at checkout.
SERIES HISTORY
- Drury brings a slim 31-28-2 series edge over the Gorillas into Tuesday's matchup.
- The Panthers have dropped their last two meetings with Pitt State (2023 and 2025), but claimed their only previous matchup with the Gorillas at O'Reilly Family Event Center in 2011.
- DU is 10-4 in non-conference action this season and 7-2 overall at home.
OPENING STORYLINES
- Drury brings a cumulative program record of 897-780-17 -- good for a .535 winning percentage -- into Tuesday's action.
- Head coach Kelly Richardson has made a strong first impression as DU's newest bench boss, entering the weekend 17-6 leading the Panthers, which represents the best start to a career by a Drury volleyball head coach.
- Richardson racked up career coaching victory No. 100 with DU's Aug. 29 victory over Texas A&M International; she brings a 115-229 cumulative collegiate coaching record into the week.
- Drury is 7-2 at home this season with six wins in its last seven outings at O'Reilly Family Event Center (since Aug. 29).
- DU, which was tabbed No. 8 in the conference's preseason poll, enters the week in sole possession of fourth place in the GLVC regular-season standings, needing just one more conference victory to secure its spot in the 2026 GLVC Tournament (Nov. 12-14 in Williamsville, Ill.).
- Jacy Bray and Skylar Hilton earned Great Lakes Valley Conference Setter and Defensive Player of the Week honors, respectively, the league office announced Monday.
- The weekly honors are the second of the season for both Bray (Setter of the Week, Sept. 8) and Hilton (Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 8), and the fifth overall for a Panther in 2026, which marks the top season total by a Drury team since the inception of the current GLVC weekly awards program.
- As a team, Drury leads the GLVC in digs per set (18.94), ranking fourth in the nation; Bray (3.55) and Abby Renshaw (3.10) pace the Panthers in the same category.
- Drury ranks third in the GLVC in blocks (2.15 per set), with Hilton (1.14) and Gracie Kimrey (0.79) each ranking among the top 20 defenders in the circuit; the Panthers also rank 35th nationally in blocks per set as a team.
- Taylor Wood turned in a strong all-around effort at the Midwest Region Crossover (Oct. 16-17), registering 27 kills (2.45 per set), 18 digs (1.64) and three blocks on the weekend; the freshman led the Panthers with her .358 hitting percentage, including her second double-double (10 kills, 11 digs) of the year vs. Hillsdale and a career day with 14 kills and a .583 hitting percentage in DU's straight-set victory over Saginaw Valley State to conclude the weekend.
- Drury has limited the opposition to a hitting percentage of .152, which ranks second in the GLVC and 50th among all NCAA Division II schools.
- Hilton ranks third in the GLVC and 32nd nationally in hitting (.385); the Ozark, Mo., product also has a team-best 88 blocks on the year and 204 for her two-year DU career.
- Hilton's 1.14 blocks per set also rank second among all GLVC players and No. 27 nationally.
- Kimrey ranks 17th in the conference with her 0.79 blocks per set average; the redshirt sophomore also ranks 14th in the GLVC in hitting (.294).
- Kimrey topped the 200-kill mark in DU's victory at Quincy (Oct. 10) and reached the 100-block milestone as a Panther at the Midwest Region Crossover (Oct. 16-17).
- Renshaw's 24 service aces lead the team, while her 2.60 kills per set and 242 digs are second on the club.
- Kim Quinit enters Tuesday's contest just 17 digs away from the 1,000-dig milestone for her Drury career.
- Bray stretched her streak of consecutive double-digit assist totals to 46 in a row last weekend (dating back to Sept. 12, 2025); she previously topped the 1,000-assist plateau for both her collegiate career and two-year DU career in a Sept. 25 win over William Jewell.
- Bray enters Friday's contest with 1,349 career assists to her credit, including 1,326 as a Panther.
- Bray paces a Panther offense that has posted the second-leading kill average (13.88 per set) and assist average (12.76 per set) in the GLVC to date.
- A Nixa, Mo., product, Bray handed out a career-high 51 assists vs. Hillsdale (Oct. 16); that effort marked the most assists by a Panther since Lauren Tyler's 51 assists at William Jewell on Nov. 4, 2023.
- Bray, who leads the Panthers with her 13 double-doubles this season, ranks third in the GLVC and 24th nationally in assists (10.23 per set), while her total of 798 assists ranks fourth in the conference.
PREVIEWING THE PANTHERS
- Drury returns 10 letterwinners from last season's 17-13 team that finished 7-6 in conference play to advance to the GLVC Tournament for the first time since 2019.
- DU won eight of its first nine matches, matching its best start to a season since 2017.
- Junior setter Jacy Bray brings a streak of 46 consecutive double-digit assist performances into the week (since Sept. 12, 2025); Bray logged nine double-doubles and recorded 528 assists (4.98 per set) and 245 digs in 2025 and has 13 doubles, 798 assists (10.23) and 277 digs (3.55) this season to date.
- Junior defensive specialist Kim Quinit enters the weekend with 983 career digs, in addition to 54 service aces to her credit.
- Sophomore middle blocker Skylar Hilton ranked fourth overall in the GLVC and 48th nationally with her 116 blocks last fall, which represented the top season tally by a Panther rookie since Elizabeth Bunch's 116 in 2001.
- Senior outside hitter Chaney Barth topped the 300-kill and 300-dig milestones for her career last fall in her first season with the Panthers; she enters the weekend with 491 career kills to her credit.
- Juniors Emerson Grossman, Jenna LaBarge, Kennedy Outler and Abby Renshaw have each earned significant playing time over their first two seasons in Scarlet and Gray; Grossman recorded a career-best 58 kills (1.21 per set) and 31 total blocks last season, while Renshaw racked up 176 kills (1.81 per set) and 41 blocks in 2025.
- Sophomores Caroline Red, Amelia White and Gracie Kimrey will be looking for breakthrough seasons as well.
- In addition to its corps of returners, Drury welcomes nine newcomers to the mix, led by transfers Reagan Baade, Isy Purrington, Sophia Frerking and Sydney Walker; additionally, freshmen Gwen Kubik, Lucy Hafer, Falon Stroup, Taylor Wood and Bella Asante round out the deep class of newcomers and should give Richardson additional options this fall.
- Drury also turned in a strong 2025-26 year in the classroom, as seven returning Panthers were named Academic All-GLVC, paced by Quinit and Renshaw, who each earned CSC Academic All-District recognition at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury returns to GLVC play this weekend with road contests against Missouri S&T (Oct. 30) and Maryville (Oct. 31).
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
