Drury goes 1-1 on Friday in the Regional Crossover Tournament

HAMMOND, Ind.– The Drury Panthers went 1-1 on the first day of the Regional Crossover Tournament on Friday in Hammond, Indiana. Drury started the day with a 3-1 win over Ursuline, then fell to Thomas More in five sets, 3-2.
 
The tournament pits opponents from the Great Lakes Valley Conference against teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
 
The Panthers were without several key players on Friday who were missing with injuries. Senior Juliana Squire, the team leader in kills and number two on the squad in digs, starter Salma Lewis, and key reserve Reagan Tunnell were all out as was defensive specialist Kallie Fenske, who has missed the last month with an injury.
 
Drury overcame those losses to defeat Ursuline 25-13, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20. Kaitlin Dean, a junior from Atlanta, Ill., whose previous season-high in kills was four, went off for 20 kills and a .417 hitting percentage. Kayli Duncan added 15 kills, and Emily Strauss contributed another 14 kills. Lauren Tyler also had a season-high with 52 assists, and Payton Mitchell had 18 digs. The Panthers also posted a season-high .346 hitting percentage as a team.
 
Drury had three match points, but Thomas More rallied to stay alive in the fourth set and used that momentum to take the fifth and the match. The Panthers won the first set 25-20 but lost the second 25-22. Drury took a 2-1 lead, winning the third set 25-21. In the fourth, the Panthers nearly closed out the match with a 24-21 lead, but the Saints reeled off five straight points to stay alive, 26-24. Thomas More then rolled to a 15-10 win in the fifth.
 
Duncan and Kayli Fasbender led Drury with 10 kills each, and Tyler posted 37 assists.
 
Emily Acito had a game-high 15 kills for the Saints.
 
The tournament continues on Saturday, and Drury is back on the floor for their third and final game of the tournament at 9 a.m. against Kentucky Wesleyan.
 
 
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