Drury University Athletics

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Rockhurst remained perfect in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, edging Drury volleyball in four back-and-forth sets (25-15, 25-18, 18-25, 25-22) Saturday afternoon at O'Reilly Family Event Center.  

The Hawks (9-4, 3-0 GLVC) took the first two sets behind the play of Alyssa McDonald, who recorded 10 of her 18 kills in helping Rockhurst establish a 2-0 lead.

Drury (11-4, 2-2 GLVC) mounted a threat in the third, using a 7-0 spurt midway through the set to take command of an eventual 25-18 DU decision. Skylar Hilton, who led the Panthers with 12 kills and eight blocks, delivered five kills while hitting .500 for the set.

In the fourth set the Panthers batteld back from a 10-6 deficit to knot the score at 14-14, then forged a lead on Abby Renshaw's service ace.

But the Hawks responded by taking the next three points, then put the match away with the help of back-to-back kills from McDonald down the stretch.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rockhust delivered a convincing first-set performance, hitting .355 as a team to pull away for the 25-15 decision.
• McDonald powered the Hawks' attack, recording seven of Rockhurst's 14 kills and hitting .600 for the opening stanza.
• Rockhurst raced to a 9-3 lead, before the Panthers rallied to trim the margin to 12-9 thanks in large part to three Renshaw kills.
• But the visiting Hawks answered with a decisive 10-3 outburst to extend their advantage to 22-12, and the Panthers never seriously threatened from there.
• The Hawks used another strong start to seize control of the second set; Rockhurst claimed four straight points to take an early 5-1 lead, then stretched the margin to seven points with a 4-0 run after the Panthers had trimmed their deficit to four.
• DU managed to narrow the gap to 16-12, but a 9-6 Hawks run closed out the 25-18 win for Rockhurst.
• Chloe Tyrrell led Rockhurst with four kills, while Ali Olson added three blocks in the second-set win.
• The Panthers hit .333 as a club in the third, riding the efforts of Hilton, Chaney Barth, Gracie Kimrey and Taylor Wood, who combined for 14 of DU's 16 kills in the set.
• Drury won four of the first five points to establish an early edge, before the Hawks came back with a run of their own to pull to within 10-9,
• Back-to-back kills by Hilton sparked the key run, and Barth added a pair of putaways to cap the spurt that handed DU a 17-9 lead.
• The Hawks got no closer than five points of the DU lead the rest of the way, with another Renshaw ace and a Kimrey kill helping close out the 25-18 win.
• Rockhurst grabbed control of a see-saw fourth set, but a Drury error, followed by a Carlie Pandjaris ace and another McDonald kill fueled the momentum-swinging surge for the Hawks.
• DU closed to within 19-18 on Hilton's kill, but Tyrrell answered with a winner for Rockhurst and another DU error handed the Hawks a 21-18 advantage.
• After kills by Hilton and Jacy Bray made it a two-point affair, Tyrrell and McDonald teamed up to close out the final three points for the Rockhurst win (25-22).

• Hilton turned in a season-high eight blocks to lead all defenders and Renshaw added four for Drury.
• Wood recorded six kills and 11 digs, while leading all DU attackers with her .333 hitting percentage.
• Bray registered 33 assists, adding to her string of consecutive double-digit assist totals (38 in a row, dating back to Sept. 12, 2025).
• Renshaw finished with eight kills, 12 digs and four blocks, while Barth added nine kills and a pair of blocks.

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