CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Bulldog volleyball team picked up a key road victory on Thursday night with a 3-1 result in Carbondale. Drake rode a balanced offensive attack and a dominant front-row defense to earn its eighth MVC win of the season.

Drake (12-10, 8-3) jumped out to a 4-3 lead in the opening set, but the host Salukis flipped things back in their direction quickly. SIU never relinquished the lead over the remainder of the first period and, despite a late charge by Drake including a Caroline Smith kill, held on for a 25-21 set victory.

The Salukis took their turn gaining an early advantage in the second set, and Drake answered with a rally of its own. Trailing 3-0, the Dogs rattled off four of the next five points to tie the score. The teams traded tallies until Drake was able to find some footing later in the set thanks to three Kacia Brown kills. Brown and the Bulldogs won the second, 25-20.

The back-and-forth action continued in the third stanza before Drake did its thing again midway through the set. Brown and Smith went back-to-back with a pair of kills before an SIU (10-15, 4-7) error made it three straight scores for the Bulldogs, giving the visiting canines a 12-10 lead. Drake never fell behind again in the third, winning the set by a 25-21 margin.

The final set was the most lopsided as Drake fully controlled the momentum. The Bulldogs led 5-0 out of the gate before SIU was able to creep back into contention. The Salukis trailed by as little as three on the same number of occasions but could not get any closer. Later in the set, two Southern Illinois errors, an ace, and two Drake kills put things out of reach.

The Bulldogs went on to win the fourth frame, 25-17, and the match, 3-1.

Kacia Brown nearly had a career day with 23 kills to lead all players, just one off her personal best. Brown also added 15 digs, second among the Bulldogs behind only Macy Daufeldt.

Daufeldt was also one of four Drake players with double digit kills with 11. Bliss Beck added 13 and Caroline Smith posted 10. Daufeldt, Beck, and Smith each logged three blocks, but Aniyah Davis led that defensive category with five.

Elsewhere, Addison Beagle and Katie Quick distributed the rock for the Dogs with 29 assists and 20 assists, respectively.

The Bulldogs return to Des Moines this weekend for their penultimate home contest as Belmont visits the Knapp Center on Nov. 1.