DES MOINES, Iowa. – The Drake volleyball team played its first match in front of its home fans this season on Tuesday night as it hosted the UNI Panthers for a Missouri Valley Conference rivalry match. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Panthers played spoiler for the home opener and won the match in four sets, 3-1.
In the first set, the Panthers jumped out ahead early after a 5-0 run gave them a 6-2 advantage over the Bulldogs and forced a timeout from Drake. UNI kept its early momentum rolling as it further increased its lead out to 17-8 and caused the Bulldogs to take another timeout.