SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury volleyball returns to O'Reilly Family Event Center this weekend to open a three-match home stand with a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference contests this weekend with matches against William Jewell at 6 p.m., Friday and Rockhurst at 3 p.m., Saturday.
The Panthers (10-3, 1-1 GLVC) split their first two conference matchups of the season last weekend, claiming a straight-set victory over McKendree last Friday, before falling at UMSL on Saturday. In the win at McKendree, Jacy Bray registered 25 assists and 13 digs to lead DU to its first win in a GLVC opener since 2022. Against the Tritons, Chaney Barth delivered a Drury career-high 15 kills to pace the Panther attack.
William Jewell (1-11, 0-1 GLVC) fell to Rockhurst in four sets last week in its GLVC opener in Kansas City. The Cardinals will be looking to stop a nine-match skid, dating back to Aug. 29. Conversely, the Hawks (7-4, 1-0 GLVC) enter the weekend riding a six-match win streat after claiming a pair of four-set victories at Mason-Halpin Field House last week, defeating then-No. 25 Central Missouri (Sept. 15) and Jewell (Sept. 18).
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 HISTORIES
- The Panthers bring a 30-3 series advantage against William Jewell into the weekend and have won 14 straight matches against the Cardinals (dating back to 2016).
- Drury is a perfect 12-0 vs. the Cardinals at O'Reilly Family Event Center, dating back to its opening in 2011.
- DU is 16-53 all-time vs. Rockhurst, including a pair of matches last fall; the Hawks won in five sets vs. DU at the GLVC Championship (Nov. 21) after sweeping the Panthers in their regular-season meeting (Oct. 3) in Kansas City.
- The Panthers are 5-7 all-time against the Hawks in O'Reilly Family Event Center.
OPENING STORYLINES
- Drury brings a cumulative program record of 890-777-17 -- good for a .533 winning percentage -- into Friday's action.
- Head coach Kelly Richardson has made a strong first impression as DU's newest bench boss, entering the weekend 10-3, 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 108-226 cumulative collegiate coaching record into the weekend.
- The Panthers recent streak of seven consecutive victories (Aug. 29-Sept. 11) marked their longest since 2019, when they won eight in a row from Sept. 21 through Oct. 12.
- DU's recently-completed win streak came entirely via straight-set victories, marking the first time in program history the Panthers have registered seven consecutive straight-set wins under the best-of-five set format.
- Drury's win over No. 4 Washburn (Sept. 12) marked its first win over a top five team since an Oct. 13, 2018 victory over Ferris State.
- Gracie Kimrey recorded a career-best seven blocks Saturday at UMSL; the sophomore has totaled at least six blocks in four of her last five matches.
- Kimrey currently ranks second overall in the GLVC this season with her average of 1.09 blocks per set.
- Skylar Hilton ranks second in the GLVC and ranks 22nd nationally in hitting (.398); the Ozark, Mo., product also has 40 blocks on the year and 156 for her two-year DU career.
- As a team, Drury leads the GLVC in blocks (2.34 per set) and ranks second in the circuit in digs per set (18.34), paced by Jacy Bray (3.36) and Abby Renshaw (3.00).
- Defensively, Drury has limited the opposition to a hitting percentage of .130, which ranks 25th among all NCAA Division II schools; the Panthers also rank ninth nationally in digs (18.34 per set), while their 2.34 blocks per set rank 18th among all D-II programs.
- Renshaw leads the Panthers with her 115 kills (2.61 per set) and 13 service aces this season.
- The North Little Rock, Ark., native has also totaled 132 digs (3.00 per set), which ranks second on the club.
- Chaney Barth's 15 kills against UMSL eclipsed three previous 12-kill efforts as a Panther, with the most recent such performance coming in DU's season opener vs. Minot State on Aug. 28.
- Bray, who earned her first career GLVC Setter of the Week award on Sept. 13, stretched her streak of consecutive double-digit assist totals to 36 in a row last weekend (dating back to Sept. 12, 2025), pacing a Panther offense that has posted the No. 2 assist average (12.36 per set) and kill average (13.50 per set) in the GLVC to date.
- A Nixa, Mo., product, Bray handed out a career-high 49 assists to go along with 24 digs in DU's five-set loss to SWOSU (Sept. 11); the junior's assist total marked the top single-match effort by a Panther since Lauren Tyler's 50-assist effort vs. Truman State on Oct. 11, 2024.
- Bray leads the GLVC and ranks 25th nationally in assists (9.93 per set), while her total of 437 assists ranks third in the conference; she enters the weekend 12 assists shy of the 1,000-assist milestone for her career.
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 seven of its first nine matches last fall, matching its best start to a season since 2018.
- Junior setter Jacy Bray brings a streak of 36 consecutive double-digit assist performances into the weekend (since Sept. 12, 2025); Bray logged nine double-doubles and recorded 528 assists (4.98 per set) and 245 digs in 2025.
- Junior defensive specialist Kim Quinit enters the weekend with 891 career digs, in addition to 49 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.
- As a team, the Panthers' 246.5 blocks ranked fourth among all GLVC clubs and 44th in the nation last season.
- 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.
- 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 concludes its home stand Wednesday (Sept. 30) with a 6 p.m., GLVC matchup against Southwest Baptist at O'Reilly.
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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