DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake volleyball squad finished its 2008 campaign with a bang on Friday evening (Nov. 21) as the Bulldogs registered a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-21) Missouri Valley Conference victory over Bradley.

The triumph provided Drake with its 12th win of the season, its highest victory output since earning 13 victories in 1998.  The Bulldogs finished their ledger at 12-20 overall, including 5-14 in the MVC.  The Braves saw their record drop to 6-25, including 2-15 in league play.  The five conference wins for Drake represent the most for a Bulldog unit since 2000.

“We controlled the net tonight and made it difficult for Bradley to stay aggressive,” Drake head coach Phil McDaniel said.  “It was a great overall team contribution this evening with terrific individual performances from Angela (Bys) and Emily (Madden).”

The Bulldogs benefited from a balanced scoring attack in the tilt as junior Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) and freshman Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic) sparked Drake to a .319 hitting percentage with a match-best 10 kills apiece.

Madden and sophomore Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) combined to register 17 kills in the match against no errors in a combined 46 opportunities.  Bys netted a .350 attack mark, while Madden struck the ball at a .385 clip.

The Bulldogs behind four kills each from Bys, Reidy and sophomore Nicole Brown (Appleton, Wis./Xavier) posted a 25-15 victory in set one.

The second stanza proved to be tighter as the frame featured 10 ties and five lead changes.  The catalyst in the set was junior Kristen Word (Grand Prairie, Texas/Oakridge), who served Drake to seven unanswered tallies to break open an 18-15 contest.

The final frame was a back and forth affair as it wasn't until a kill from freshman Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore Community) that the Bulldogs took the lead for good en route to a 25-21 triumph.

Madden finished with her third double-double of the season notching a match-high 10 kills to go along with 10 digs.  

Sophomore Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) registered a match-best 18 digs to finish the year with a school-record 603 digs.  Falling one dig shy of double-figures were Bys and junior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown).

Lauersdorf led all players with 28 assists to conclude her campaign with 1,003 assists, the 10th-best single-season mark in school history.  Johnson added 13 assists off the bench.

Drake collected 11 blocks in the affair, sparked by seven from Reidy and four each from Bys and redshirt freshman Mikayla Sims (Waterloo, Iowa/East).

Sam Black turned in a 22-assist, 10-dig effort to direct Bradley, while Amy Reichel netted a team-best seven kills.

Drake concluded the tilt bettering the Braves in kills (49-30), assists (46-29), digs (57-40) and blocks (11.0-4.0), while service aces were all square at four apiece.