Kentucky Wesleyan edges Drury in tight, five-set match

HAMMOND, Ind.– The Drury Panthers rallied from two sets down to force a fifth set but came up short in a tightly contested match to Kentucky Wesleyan at the Midwest Regional Crossover Tournament in Hammond, Indiana, on Saturday.
 
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.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan won the first two sets 25-22, but the Panthers pushed the match to a fifth set, winning the third, 26-24, and the fourth, 25-23. Kentucky Wesleyan jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the fifth set, but Drury rallied to go ahead 11-10 and had a match-point leading 14-13. KWU won the next three points, though, to take the match. Each of the five sets was decided by three points or less.
 
Kaitlyn Dean led the Panthers with 14 kills and 18 digs. Emily Strauss added 13 kills and 18 digs. Kayli Duncan had nine block assists, while Lauren Tyler had 38 assists.
 
Nicole Hughes had a game-high 19 kills to lead Kentucky Wesleyan, and Julia Kupper dished out 51 assists and had six service aces.
 
Saturday’s match marked the eighth time and the second game in a row that Drury has gone five sets in a match this season. 
 
The Panthers were without several key players for the tournament 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.
 
The Panthers are back on their home court and return to conference play when they take on Quincy in a 6 p.m. game at the O’Reilly Family Event Center on Friday.
 
 
#