Driskill sparks WSU volleyball to sweep of Drake
Ashlyn Driskill shows off her leaping ability and powerful swing in Wichita State volleyball practices and she is practicing exceptionally well in recent days.
In Friday’s match against Northern Iowa, that Driskill didn’t show up. On Saturday night, she came off the bench in the second set and made a big difference in WSU’s 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-20) win at Koch Arena.
The Shockers (10-6, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference) defeated Drake (9-7, 1-4) for the 28th straight time and swept the Bulldogs for the 11th straight time. Driskill took advantage of the overmatched opponent to record seven kills, without an error, on 10 swings for a career-high .700 attack percentage.
“Ashlyn has been a dominant performer in practice,” WSU coach Chris Lamb said. “It just hasn’t been the same in matches. Tonight, coming off the bench, she has her best performance. Jumping high and hitting hard can go a long way in volleyball.”
Lamb was reluctant to credit the reserve role for sparking Driskill. Driskill wasn’t. She watched the first set and entered the match about halfway through the second set.
“When I get too excited, or happy, I just want to hit the ball hard and not really look where the block is at,” she said. “I was more relax and chill when I went to this game. I saw more of the court, I guess, and it helped me with my attack selection.”
When Driskill came off the bench, WSU trailed 11-7. Her kill cut the lead to 11-10 and she finished that set with three kills and two digs.
“You get to see how other hitters are doing and you can tell where you should go,” she said. “You get to see it first-hand, instead of being in the air and seeing it.”
The good news on the left continued with the play of freshman Jenny Whitledge, who contributed seven kills, one short of her career high. Two errors in the third set dropped her attack percentage to .190, but Lamb saw plenty of positive signs. Whitledge, who redshirted last season, was moving into a more prominent role before a concussion, suffered in practice, sidelined her in mid-September for a few practices.
“If we can get it going out there, this team can move forward,” Lamb said. “Jenny, like others, just needs time to jell.”
Amanda Platte led the Bulldogs with eight kills.
WSU’s middles Abbie Lehman and Katie Reilly dominated the first set. Lehman totaled five kills with no errors for a .714 attack percentage. Reilly added three, also with no errors, and hit .750.
The Shockers pulled away after a kill by Lehman started a 7-1 run and gave them a 16-9 lead. A kill by Whitledge started another run and the Shockers weren’t threatened.
Drake threatened in the second set by building an 11-7 lead, at which point the Shockers had two kills and four errors. They quickly reversed the momentum, helped by Driskill. She didn’t play in the first set and contributed three kills on three swings in the second. Whitledge, who replaced Driskill on the left, also recorded three kills in the set.
WSU took the lead when Mikaela Raudsepp hammered in an overpass for a 14-13 lead. Dani Mostrom’s ace and another kill by Raudsepp gave the Shockers a 16-13 lead. After a Drake timeout, Gabi Mostrom’s ace made it 19-15.
Driskill came back in the rotation for kills that gave WSU leads of 20-16 and 21-17. Two attack errors by Drake’s Katie Dulek propelled the Shockers to finish the set on a 4-2 run.
Drake put up little resistance early in the third set. The Bulldogs fell behind 9-5 before calling timeout. The Shockers then zipped to a 16-9 lead on a kill by Driskill. The Shockers led 19-10 when their inexperience showed up again. Drake rallied with a 7-1 run to force Lamb to call a timeout.
Drake’s Katie Allen helped by slamming the next serve into the net to give WSU a 21-18 lead. A kill by Driskill made it 24-19 and she finished off the Bulldogs by scoring off a double-block for the final point.
This story was originally published October 4, 2014 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Driskill sparks WSU volleyball to sweep of Drake."