ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - The Drury University volleyball team battled but was defeated by #24 Alaska Anchorage 21-25,20-25 and 16-25 on Thursday evening at the Extended Stay Deluxe Invitational played at Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
In the season opener against the Seawolves (1-0), DU (0-1) battled hard in game one trailing by five multiple times and cutting the Anchorage lead to 24-21 before falling 25-21. Drury got as close as 20-18 in game two before Anchorage sealed the win by outscoring the Panthers 5-2 down the stretch for the 25-20 victory. The Seawolves swept the match with a 25-16 game three win.
Senior
Kayla Hellebusch led Drury with eight kills while senior outside hitter
Kyrie Hopkins had seven kills to pace the Panthers. Senior setter
Austin Warren racked up a Panther match high 25 assists to go along with seven digs. Senior outside hitter
Ali Rook added a team high 10 digs and tallied six kills.
The Panthers also got a solid contribution from sophomore outside hitter and newcomer
Alex Smith who had eight digs in her first match as a Panther. Freshman
Elly Citron added five kills for DU.
"Our serve and pass game was very sub par tonite," said Coach Ashleigh Shear Fitzgerald. "While I thought our attitude and focus were very good, we have to improve on our first contacts - thru serving more aggressively and passing more consistently. Hopefully we will serve and pass better so that we can dictate our offensive tempo."
Drury will continue play in the Extended Deluxe Stay Invitational on Friday taking on Alaska Fairbanks at 10 p.m. (CST), before concluding the tournament on Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks at 4 p.m. (CST) and Alaska Anchorage at 9 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.
Box Score
Live Stats
Free Live Video Webcast Link For DU vs. Alaska Anchorage on Saturday