SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Fueled by another balanced effort from its offense and a stingy defense, Drury volleyball swept the first two sets before holding off Pittsburg State's comeback bid in a hard-fought five-set victory (25-23, 28-26, 18-25, 22-25, 15-10) in its final non-conference contest of the season Tuesday evening at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Jacy Bray turned in a career performance to lead the Drury attack, as the junior racked up personal bests for assists (52) and digs (30), while four different DU hitters recorded double-digit kill totals in the Panthers' fourth consecutive home victory. Chaney Barth also delivered a career best with her match-high 17 kills, while Abby Renshaw tallied 14, Skylar Hilton chipped in with 12 and Taylor Wood added 10 for a Drury attack that totaled 68 kills for the match.
The Panthers (18-6, 7-2 GLVC) rallied from a five-point deficit to claim a two-point win in the opening set, before taking a 2-0 lead with a 28-26 victory in the second, as the DU defense limited the Gorillas to .098 hitting over the first two stanzas. Pitt State (19-7, 4-4 MIAA) rallied in the third for a 25-18 win, before edging the Panthers for a three-point decision in the fourth to force a fifth set.
But Drury led the deciding game from start to finish, building an early four-point cushion before the Gorillas bounced back with a 5-1 run to close to within one point. Wood delivered three of her four kills in the set during a 6-2 DU run that closed out the set and the Panthers victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Pitt State bounced out to a 12-7 first-set advantage before Drury answered by winning eight of the next 11 points to even the score.
- After the Gorillas claimed three of the next four points to reclaim a three-point edge, DU engineered a 4-0 spurt to take the lead (20-19), then took a two-point lead moments later on the first of two key Renshaw kills that helped secure the eventual 25-23 victory.
- Drury won a nip-and-tuck second set that featured 13 ties and five lead changes, seemingly seizing control with a 5-1 scoring run to snap a 14-14 deadlock.
- But Pitt State had an answer, striking back with a 5-1 spurt of its own to tie it up at 21-21, before earning three different set points.
- The Panthers negated each set point, ultimately flipping a 26-25 deficit into a 28-26 win thanks to critical kills by Bray and Barth, the latter of whom registered six kills in the second set.
- The Gorillas used a 15-3 scoring run in the third to turn an early five-point deficit into a 17-10 bulge.
- Pitt State led by as many as eight points and cruised to the 25-18 win, despite hitting just .111 as a club.
- The visitors heated up in the fourth set, however, hitting .236 while overcoming an 18-16 Drury advantage that positioned the Panthers just seven points away from victory.
- The Gorillas won five consecutive points to flip the scoreboard, before Barth and Wood combined for three straight kills to even things up at 21-21.
- But Pitt State took the next two on kills by Maliyah Johnson and Mason Palace, then closed out the set on another Palace kill (25-22).
- Drury saved its best offensive effort of the night for the fifth set, with Wood, Hilton and Bray lining up a trio of kills for an early 4-1 Panthers lead.
- Barth added three kills down the stretch, including perhaps one of the biggest of the night after the Gorillas had rallied to trim the margin to 9-8.
- Wood added three kills and combined with Gracie Kimrey on a key block that put DU on top 13-8; the Panthers put the win on ice with Wood's 10th kill of the night off of a feed from Bray for her career-best 52nd assist of the match.
NOTABLES
- Drury improved to 32-28-2 all-time vs. Pitt State with its first win over the Gorillas since Sept. 3, 2016.
- With the victory, DU surpassed its 2025 season win total (18).
- Head coach Kelly Richardson picked up her 18th victory as the Panthers' head coach, matching L.A. Anderson (2000) for the top win total by a Drury first-year head coach.
- The Panthers also hiked their home record to 8-2 and their non-conference mark to 11-4 in 2026.
- Kim Quinit recorded 17 digs on the night to reach the 1,000-dig milestone for her Drury career.
- Additionally, Barth topped the 500-kill plateau for her collegiate career with her best single-match total as a Panther, eclipsing her 16 kills vs. Hillsdale on Oct. 16, 2026.
- Bray logged her 14th double-double of the season -- and fourth in a row; the junior setter registered her sixth straight 30+ assist performance and 18th overall this season, as well as her second 50+ assist effort.
- Renshaw notched her ninth double of the season, surpassing her previous career best for digs in the process.
- Hilton finished with five blocks, running her Drury career total to 209.
- Amelia White also came through with a big night for the DU defense, tallying a career-best 21 digs topping her previous personal high of 17 (at Illinois Springfield on Oct. 9, 2026).
QUOTABLE
"We talked a lot about keeping the match where we wanted it, so playing within our system, within our rhythm and not letting anything distract us from that," Richardson said. "Whenever we were doing that, we did a great job of controlling the flow. So we talked during those early timeouts about our focus, what was in our control, what we do, doing it well and doing it with discipline. We talked before the fifth set about what we needed to do and that this was a key moment of growth for our team. We needed to come out with confidence, step up and finish. They did an excellent job of answering that challenge."
UP NEXT
Drury will put its five-match conference win streak on the line when it returns to the road for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference contests this weekend, beginning with a 6 p.m., Friday (Oct. 30) matchup with Missouri S&T in Rolla.
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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