SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury volleyball closed out its opening weekend of the season in style, cruising to a pair of straight-set victories against Texas A&M International (25-23, 25-15, 25-21) and Newman (25-20, 25-23, 25-13) to close out the final day of the Drury Invitational.
DU rode career days from Abby Renshaw (two double-doubles) and Jacy Bray (78 combined assists) to clean sweeps in both matches to wrap up a 3-1 weekend to start the 2026 season.
In their victory over TAMIU (2-2) to start the afternoon, the Panthers hit .289 as a team to hand head coach Kelly Richardson the 100th victory of her collegiate coaching career.
The nightcap against Newman (0-4) saw Drury lead the opening set from start to finish, before rallying from a late four-point deficit to capture the second one as well. Fueled by a balanced offensive attack that featured four Panthers posting double-figure kill totals, DU ran away with a decisive win in the third to put a punctuation mark on the win and the weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED - DRURY 3, TAMIU 0
- Drury used an 8-2 spurt to claim an early lead in the opening set, with Skylar Hilton recording a pair of kills during the run.
- TAMIU battled back to pull even on three separate occasions before forging a 19-17 lead on a Mia Molina kill.
- The Panthers responded, registering a 5-3 run to even the score at 22-22, then taking a one-point edge on a Gracie Kimrey kill.
- Renshaw, who recorded a career-high 16 kills in the match, put the set on ice with her fifth kill of the opening stanza, giving DU a 25-23 win in the opener.
- Drury grabbed control of the second set by winning four consecutive points to build a 7-3 lead; the duo of Renshaw and Chaney Barth provided the early edge for the Panthers, as the two combined for four kills during the key run.
- DU stretched its margin to six points (14-8) with the help of two more kills from Hilton, who hit .571 with four kills in the second set.
- Drury kept the Dustdevils at arm's length, closing out the 25-15 victory by winning six of the final seven points for the double-digit margin.
- Spurred by .333 hitting in the third set, the Panthers closed out the match by overcoming a late push by TAMIU.
- Tied at 15-15, DU won five of the next six points, then claimed the last five points after TAMIU wiped out its lead and took a 21-20 advantage.
- Kimrey led the final push by the Panthers, logging kills on each of the final three points of the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED - DRURY 3, NEWMAN 0
- Drury raced out to an early lead in the opening set against the Jets, as Hilton and Kimrey combined for eight kills while logging matching .429 hitting percentages.
- DU built a 9-3 lead, then stretched it out to a nine-point spread behind back-to-back kills by Kimrey; Newman would close the gap to 22-20 via a 10-3 scoring run, but the Panthers closed out the set thanks in part to a Renshaw kill and a service ace by Bray.
- The Jets seemed to take control of a nip-and-tuck second set that featured 17 ties and six lead changes, building an 18-14 edge on a block from Ashlyn Warburton and Kierny Follmer.
- The Panthers responded in a big way, claiming the next four points to pull even, then surging to the 25-23 win on Renshaw kills on consecutive points;
- Drury was in command from the onset of the third set, claiming five of the first six points as four different Panthers recorded a kill.
- Barth helped lead the charge with four of her 10 kills coming in the third stanza; DU hit a season-best .317 as a team in the third and closed the match with a 14-5 scoring run.
- Renshaw and Hilton led the Panthers with 11 kills apiece, while Bray's 43 assists established a career high for the junior setter.
- Hilton also registered a .474 hitting percentage for the match.
NOTABLES
- With her career-high 43 assists vs. Newman, Bray extended her streak of consecutive double-digit assist performances to 27 in a row; she also tallied 35 assists and 11 digs vs. TAMIU for her second double-double of the season and 11th of her DU career.
- Renshaw recorded double-doubles in both victories, finishing the opening game with 16 kills and 10 digs, before adding 11 kills and 12 digs in the second match.
- With her 16 kills against TAMIU, Renshaw surpassed her previous career-best of 14, which she achieved on two previous occasions, most recently at SBU on Oct. 9, 2025; she finished the day with 27 kills and completed the weekend with 31 kills (2.38 per set) and 38 digs (2.92 per set).
- Kimrey logged a pair of double-digit kill efforts as well, tallying 10 kills—and a .474 hitting percentage—against TAMIU and 10 more kills vs. Newman.
- Hilton also concluded a strong weekend to open her sophomore season, totaling 36Â kills (2.77 per set) and 16 blocks while hitting .443 over four matches.Â
QUOTABLES
"It was a really good weekend for us," Richardson commented. "I think the biggest thing today was the bounceback. We talked a lot last night about being able to pay attention to what we need to fix and immediately come back with a sense of urgency and apply it. They did a really good job of that today."
UP NEXT
Drury will make the short trek to Bolivar, Mo., next weekend to take part in the SBU Invitational, beginning with a pair of contests Friday (Sept. 4) vs. Arkansas-Monticello (1 p.m.) and Lane College (5 p.m.).
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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