DES MOINES, Iowa – The Belmont University volleyball team dropped the front end of a two-match swing through the Hawkeye State on Friday night, falling 3-0 to Drake at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa.Â
Belmont (7-18, 3-9 MVC) made a run in the third set to try to lengthen the match, but Drake (19-6, 10-2 MVC) was able to shut the door to get the win, 25-16, 25-13, 25-20.Â
Laura Shoopman led the Bruin offense with eight kills, while Kristen Clemons added seven and Brooke Gillleland and Sydney Willis each tallied six.Â
Coming in off the bench, Erina Shin recorded a career-high 14 assists to lead the team, adding two digs.Â
The Bruins finished with five total blocks on the night, getting two assists each from Clemons and Willis.Â
Rachel McBride picked up 12 digs in the loss, and is now just 28 shy of hitting 1,000 for her career.Â
Belmont was able to hold second-place Drake to .202 hitting on the night, including just .125 in the third set, but the Bruins committed a few too many mistakes themselves, collecting 20 attack errors through the three frames.Â
Despite trailing in the third set 17-8, Belmont refused to quit, rattling off a big 8-2 run to pull the match to just 19-16. Â
However, the red-hot Bulldogs, who have now won 14 straight sets, were able to buckle down and keep the Bruins at bay, pulling out a 25-20 win to secure the sweep.Â
Up NextÂ
Belmont will face first-place Northern Iowa on Saturday evening at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Panthers are 12-0 in conference play after taking down Murray State on Friday.Â
The match will be streamed on ESPN3, and live stats will be available on BelmontBruins.com. In-game updates will be posted to Twitter by @BelmontVB.Â
Follow Belmont volleyball on social media - @BelmontVB on Twitter and @belmontvball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.       Â
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