SPRINGFIELD, MO. - The gap between the elite in the Missouri Valley Conference and the Drake volleyball team continues to dissipate but the Bulldogs still lack that marquee victory after giving a valiant fight in dropping a 3-1 (19-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-16) decision at Missouri State on Saturday evening (Oct. 31).

Drake now stands at 18-9 overall and 7-6 in the MVC, while the Bears registered their 22nd straight win over the Bulldogs to improve their ledger to 17-7 on the year and 10-2 in league action.

 "We played well at times in the match but Missouri State is a tough team at home," Drake head coach Phil McDaniel commented.  "They're strong defensively and they just dug a few more balls than we did tonight."

Missouri State raced out to an 8-3 lead in game one but the Bulldogs refused to give in as Drake cut the deficit to one point on four different occasions before the Bears closed out the frame on a 10-4 run to record a 25-19 decision.

The second stanza saw the Bulldogs jump out to a 9-2 lead before Missouri State went on a run of its own to assume a 24-20 advantage.  Drake withstood four game points before junior Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) put the Bulldogs ahead to stay, 26-25, on a kill.  Junior Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) then completed the rally with a kill to collect a 27-25 triumph.

Drake again pushed out to an 8-3 lead in the third game but couldn't handle the pressure of the Bears as Missouri State garnered a 25-21 decision.

Leading 9-8 in the deciding frame, the Bears parlayed a 9-1 run to secure the match with a 25-16 win.

Drake finished the evening attacking the ball at a .177 clip, while Missouri State wrapped up the victory recording a .270 attack mark.

Senior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) collected her team-leading seventh double-double of the year with a 27-assist, 12-dig performance.

Bys lead the Bulldogs with 15 kills, while senior Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) and sophomore Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic) each netted nine kills.  Madden just missed a double-double as she added 14 digs to her nine kills.

Calli Norman led all players with a match-high 25 kills.  Cara Hackman paced five Missouri State players in double-figures in digs with 37.

Junior Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) directed Drake with 28 digs.

"Alana (Wittenburg) was solid this evening and both our middles were strong, but we didn't have enough fire power this evening," McDaniel explained.

Missouri State bettered Drake in kills (67-51), service aces (5-2), assists (62-47) and digs (93-78), while the Bulldogs netted a 6.0-5.0 advantage in blocks.  The Bulldogs established a season high in attempts (181), while recording a season-best 78 digs in a four-set match.

Drake returns to action on Nov. 7 with a 7:00 p.m. tilt at Creighton.