Drake closes out its regular season this week as the Bulldogs face road tests at Bradley on Friday (Nov. 20) and at No. 21 Northern Iowa on Saturday (Nov. 21). Match time in both contests is 7:00 p.m., with the tilts serving as Drake's final encounters before the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship next week (Nov. 26-28) in Omaha, Neb.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS
Live stats will be available for both matches through www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Bradley (9-21, 0-16 MVC) has struggled this season as the Braves enter the week having dropped their last 11 matches. Amy Reichel paces Bradley in kills at 2.59 per frame, while Rachelle Dejean is registering a team-best 2.91 digs and Skylar Lesan leads the team in assists (9.17). Collectively, the Braves are recording 11.49 kills, 10.72 assists, 13.72 digs and 1.62 blocks.
Northern Iowa (26-2, 16-0 MVC) is ranked No. 21 in the latest AVCA Top-25 and has posted 24 consecutive victories entering the week. Shannon Aschoff leads the Panthers, averaging a team-high 3.03 kills per game. Ellie Blankenship directs the defensive attack with 5.87 digs, while Bre Payton is distributing 10.47 assists. As a unit, Northern Iowa is averaging 14.77 kills, 13.57 assists, 17.58 digs and 2.30 blocks.
SERIES RECORDS
The series between the Bulldogs and Braves is tied with both teams posting 24 victories. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs collected a 3-0 home victory on Sept. 19.
Drake will encounter its in-state rival Northern Iowa for the 73rd time in school history when the two sides meet on Saturday (Nov. 21). The Panthers have dominated the series, owning a 61-10-1 advantage. The Bulldogs have not defeated Northern Iowa since Nov. 22, 1996, a span of 26 matches.
THE COACHES
Sean Burdette is in his second campaign as head coach at Bradley, registering a 15-47 (.242) mark.
Bobbi Petersen is in her 10th year leading Northern Iowa, posting a 254-72 (.779) record.
Phil McDaniel is in his second season at Drake and owns a 33-30 (.524) ledger.
HEAD COACH PHIL MCDANIEL
Phil McDaniel is in his second season guiding the Drake volleyball program.
He rekindled the Bulldogs in his initial campaign as Drake posted a 12-20 mark in 2008. The 12 victories marked the highest win total for a Bulldog team since the 1998 unit captured 13 triumphs. It also represented the first time any current member of the Drake team had won double-digit matches during their respective careers.
Off the court, the team was named as one of the AVCA Team Academic Award winners, recording a 3.5 grade point average for the 2008-09 academic year and then sophomore Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) was tabbed to the All-MVC Scholar-Athlete first team.
An assistant coach at South Dakota State from 2005-2007, McDaniel helped the Jackrabbits claim the 2007 Summit League title as well as a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
During his tenure in Brookings, S.D., he spearheaded recruiting efforts for the SDSU program, as well as monitoring academic progress for the Jackrabbits, who were honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with its Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award in 2005 and 2006.
During his last three years at South Dakota State, McDaniel played a part in helping lead the Jackrabbits to a 63-42 record, including the first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in 2007.
McDaniel came to South Dakota State after spending three seasons (2002-04) as an assistant coach at New Mexico State. The Aggies were 86-15 during his tenure and claimed the Sun Belt Conference crown in each of his three campaigns while winning berths in the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and 2004.
While in Las Cruces, N.M., he coached Stevi Adams (2004 Sun Belt Conference Most Outstanding Player and 2004 AVCA South All-Region Team), Trinia Cuseo (2003 AVCA South All-Region Team and 2003 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention) and Jackie Godber (2003 Sunbelt Defensive Player of the Year and 2003 AVCA South All-Region Team).
The Mt. Zion, Ill., native served as head coach at J.H. Rose High School in Greenville, N.C. from 2000-02, where he was twice named as the Big East Conference 4A Coach of the Year (2000 & 2001) in directing the school to a 42-7 ledger.
He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Culver-Stockton College in 1996 and a master's degree in counselor education from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1998. He competed on the soccer and tennis squads while at Culver-Stockton.
MADDEN SNARES CAREER DIG NO. 1,000
Senior Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) became only the fifth player in school history to record 1,000 career digs with her fourth of 10 digs in a 3-1 victory over Evansville last Friday (Nov. 13).
LAUERSDORF SEEKING CAREER ASSIST NO. 3,000
Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) became only the third player in school history to distribute 3,000 assists after registering 26 assists in a 3-2 win over Southern Illinois last Saturday (Nov. 14).
BULLDOGS CRACK 20-WIN PLATEAU FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1996
Drake cracked the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1996 with its 3-1 victory against Evansville last Friday (Nov. 13). The milestone marked the first time since the Bulldogs went 24-4 in 1996 that the Bulldogs had reached the 20-win milestone.
DRAKE HONORED TRIO OF SENIORS
Having been at the epicenter of the resurgence of Drake volleyball over the past two seasons, seniors Chelsea Lauersdorf, Emily Madden and Lindsay Schryver (Williams Bay, Wis./Williams Bay) were honored prior to the Bulldogs' regular season finale with Southern Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 14). The trio has appeared in 113, 121 and 113 matches, respectively.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
With the Bulldogs' 3-2 triumph over Southern Illinois last Saturday (Nov. 14), Phil McDaniel registered his 33rd coaching victory at Drake to move him past Cheryl McConnell into fourth place on the Bulldogs' career coaching victory list. He is 19 wins shy of surpassing Bob Bowers, who posted a 51-55 mark as head coach from 1976-77.
MARCHING TOWARDS BULLDOG HISTORY
Junior Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) has registered 1,587 career digs in 93 career matches. She surpassed Brandy Ossian (1,455/1993-96) for top honors in school history with her 19-dig performance versus Illinois State (Oct. 24). Junior Angela Bys has 1,145 career kills, good for fourth in the school record book, two behind Kim Bahr (1,147/1997-00). She also is rated fifth in career attack attempts with 3,315. Emily Madden is moving up the charts at second all-time with 3,503 attack attempts and fifth in career digs with 1,013.
LAST TIME OUT
Drake 3, Southern Illinois 2 (Nov. 14, 2009)
DES MOINES, IOWA - Drake reached another milestone in its renaissance as the Bulldogs rallied for a come-from-behind 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-8) victory over Southern Illinois last Saturday (Nov. 14) to capture the program's first berth in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship since 1998.
On a night when the Bulldogs honored their three seniors in Chelsea Lauersdorf, Emily Madden and Lindsay Schryver, it was a collective team effort that enabled Drake to reach its ultimate team goal this season, that being to earn a spot in the MVC Championship.
The first set was an offensive struggle for both sides, but it was the Bulldogs' defense that led to a 26-24 triumph.
Drake seemed poised to capture the second frame, holding an 18-13 advantage, but the Salukis fought back scoring 11 of the next 13 points before registering a 25-22 triumph on a Chandra Roberson kill.
Southern Illinois took the third stanza by a score of 25-17, before the Bulldogs squared the contest at two with a 25-19 decision in the fourth set.
In the deciding frame, Drake recorded seven kills against only three errors to win the set and the match with a 15-8 victory.
Lauersdorf ended her home career with a bang with a 26-dig, 26-assist performance for her team-leading 11th double-double of the season. With her first assist in the fifth set, she became only the third player in school history to reach the 3,000-assist plateau, while her 26 digs represented a career high.
Turning in her second double-double of the season was sophomore Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore Community) with 12 assists and 11 digs.
Drake garnered double-figure kills by junior Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson), Angela Bys and redshirt freshman Emily Heffernen (Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware) with 12, 11 and 11 kills, respectively. Heffernen also added a team-high seven blocks.
Alana Wittenburg chipped in 23 digs, while Madden just missed a double-double with nine kills and seven digs.
The Salukis bested the Bulldogs in kills (59-57), assists (49-46) and digs (97-92), while Drake earned the edge in service aces (7-5) and blocks (11.0-5.0).
BULLDOGS BITES
• With its victory over Southern Illinois, Drake has won its most matches (21) in a season since going 24-4 in 1996.
• Angela Bys has posted double-figure kills in 60 of 93 career matches.
• Emily Heffernen has recorded at least one block in 30 of Drake's 31 matches this season, including the previous 30 contests.
• Michelle Reidy owns blocks in 29 of 31 matches this fall, including eight affairs with seven or more in which the Bulldogs have gone 7-1. In her career, she has collected at least one block in 56 of 60 matches.
• Five Drake players have collected 10 or more service aces this season, led by 30 from Chelsea Lauersdorf. She is joined by Emily Madden, sophomore Erika Price (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge), Michelle Reidy and Alana Wittenburg with 16, 15, 14 and 13 aces, respectively.
• In its 21 matches won, Drake has two starters attacking the ball at a .300 clip or better in Reidy (.326) and Heffernen (.322). As a team, the Bulldogs have registered a .235 hitting percentage in those contests, while limiting the opposition to a .122 attack mark on the strength of 13.18 kills, 16.73 digs, 12.00 assists and 2.60 blocks.
• The Bulldogs have registered 18 double-doubles this season, led by 11 from Chelsea Lauersdorf (Eastern Illinois - Aug. 29; Northern Colorado - Sept. 11; Illinois State - Sept. 25; Wichita State - Oct. 3; Southern Illinois - Oct. 16; Illinois State - Oct. 24; Missouri State - Oct. 31; Creighton - Nov. 7; South Dakota - Nov. 9; Evansville - Nov. 13; Southern Illinois - Nov.14), four by Emily Madden (Eastern Illinois - Aug. 29; Indiana State - Oct. 23; South Dakota - Nov. 9; Evansville - Nov. 13) and two each courtesy of Caitlin Johnson (Northern Colorado - Sept. 11; Southern Illinois - Nov. 14) and Angela Bys (Indiana State - Oct. 24).
• Drake is 11-0 when recording 10 or more blocks in a match.
• The Bulldogs have won 11 matches in three games and five tilts in five. Six matches this season has gone four games - a pair of 3-1 losses to Iowa State and Missouri State and a quintet of 3-1 victories over Creighton, at Southern Illinois, versus Indiana State, at South Dakota and versus Southern Illinois.
• Drake has bettered its opponents in victories won by game in every frame this season. The Bulldogs are 67-45 in games captured.
• The Bulldogs are 8-1 when recording five or more service aces.
• Drake has hit .230 or better in 13 matches this season, compiling a 12-1 record.
• The Bulldogs have held opponents under a .150 attack percentage 15 times this season, compiling a perfect 15-0 mark.
• Drake is 13-1 when collecting more digs than its opponent.
• Eastern Illinois is the only team that has recorded double-digit blocks against Drake this season. The Bulldogs defeated the Panthers, 3-2, at the IPFW Tournament.
DRAKE STEADY IN NCAA RPI
Drake checks in at No. 93 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings released on Monday (Nov. 16). The Bulldogs are the fifth-highest ranked MVC school behind Northern Iowa (19), Wichita State (25), Missouri State (48) and Creighton (89).
DIGS FOR THE CURE
Drake's home match with Indiana State (Oct. 23) served as the Bulldogs' Dig for the Cure event to raise breast cancer awareness. Drake players donned pink socks and hair ribbons for the event and fans were asked to play their part by wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness month.
HEFFERNEN NAMED MVC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
The Missouri Valley Conference announced on Oct. 26 that Emily Heffernen was selected as the State Farm MVC Freshman of the Week. The honor marked the second time this season that Heffernen had been recognized with the weekly accolade.
Heffernen fashioned together a strong week to help Drake extend its winning streak to seven straight matches, registering 2.42 kills, 0.58 blocks and 0.42 digs per game.
In Drake's 3-1 victory over Indiana State (Oct. 23), she posted 12 kills against no errors to collect a career-best .632 hitting percentage. She also added four blocks against the Sycamores.
A day later, she added 12 kills in the Bulldogs' come-from-behind 3-2 win over Illinois State. She chipped in two blocks.
I'LL TAKE KILLS FOR A 1,000
Angela Bys became only the eighth Drake player to surpass the 1,000-kill plateau when she collected her seventh of a team-high eights kills against South Dakota State on Oct. 7.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
Drake's come-from-behind win at Illinois State (Sept. 25) snapped a 26-match losing streak to the Redbirds. The Bulldogs' victory was the first overall against Illinois State since 1996 and the first in Normal (Ill.) since 1995.
START STRONG, STAY STRONG
The Bulldogs have started strong this season, outscoring opponents in game one (702-655). In game two, three and four Drake holds a 676-676, 712-664 and 306-265 advantage, respectively. The Bulldogs own a 19-point advantage in game five this season, 87-68.
TOURNAMENT FINISHES
Drake has recorded one tournament championship (Hampton Inn Drake Invitational) and two second-place finishes (IPFW Invitational and Hawkeye Challenge) this season.
JUST GET IT OVER WITH
The Bulldogs have swept 11 matches this season, topping the total of six recorded last fall. The last time the Bulldogs won 11 matches by a sweep was the 1996 season when they recorded 13.
I'M DIGGIN IT
Alana Wittenburg has collected double-digit digs in 28 of Drake's 31 matches this season. She recorded a career-high 35 digs against South Dakota on Sept. 4 at the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational. In her 93 career matches, Wittenburg has recorded 79 double-digit dig performances.
"SETTING" AN EXAMPLE
Senior setter Chelsea Lauersdorf has been named to the all-tournament team in each of Drake's tournaments this fall. She ranks third all-time with 3,002 career assists.
YOU CAN ALWAYS GO HOME
With its victory over Southern Illinois last Saturday (Nov. 14), Drake registered its 11th home win, the most since the 1995 team that recorded 10 victories in the Knapp Center.
PLAYING WITH THE BEST OF THEM
The Bulldogs rank 37th (out of 329 Division I programs) in the NCAA in digs per game (16.71), 66th in blocks per frame (2.31) and 75th in winning percentage (.677).
SHE DOESN'T PLAY LIKE A ROOKIE
Redshirt freshman Emily Heffernen is playing like a seasoned veteran this season, ranking second in total blocks (104), block assists (93), blocks per game (0.94) and solo blocks (11). She was named to the IPFW All-Tournament team and received MVC Newcomer of the Week honors earlier this season.
BULLDOGS TABBED EIGHTH
The Missouri Valley Conference released its preseason volleyball poll Aug. 13 and Drake received 33 points, placing eighth, in a vote of the league's coaches.
Defending league champion Wichita State was again tabbed as the preseason favorite with 99 points, receiving all but one of the first-place votes.
Garnering the other first-place vote and finishing second with 87 points was Missouri State. Northern Iowa (84 points), Creighton (81 points), Southern Illinois (52 points), Evansville (47 points) and Illinois State (42 points) rounded out the top seven. Finishing the poll was Bradley (24 points) and Indiana State (19 points).
ONE YEAR AGO
The Bulldogs were 11-20 entering their 32nd contest a year ago. Drake averaged 11.61 kills, 15.54 digs, 10.74 assists, 1.16 service aces and 2.00 blocks per frame. Angela Bys paced the squad in kills (3.33), while Wittenburg was distributing 4.96 digs per stanza.
IN OUR LAST FIVE MATCHES
The Bulldogs have averaged 13.35 kills, 19.25 digs, 11.75 assists, 0.70 service aces and 2.20 blocks per game in their last five matches en route to a 3-2 mark. Leading the way at 3.00 kills per frame is Angela Bys. Alana Wittenburg paces the way in digs at 5.40 per set, while Chelsea Lauersdorf averages 6.60 assists and Emily Heffernen is averaging 1.05 blocks per stanza.
STRONG AT THE NET
The key factor in the Bulldogs' success this season has been the play at the net where Drake owns a respectable margin in blocks over its opponents. Through 31 matches, the Bulldogs have garnered 259.0 blocks to just 163.0 for their opponents. Drake leads in solo blocks, 46-45, but has dominated the opposition in block assists, 426-236. Eight Drake players have posted double-figure blocks this year. That list includes Michelle Reidy (109), Emily Heffernen (104), Alisa DeBerg Roth (82), Angela Bys (47), Emily Madden (45), Mikayla Sims (29), Nicole Brown (Appleton, Wis./Xavier) (24) and Chelsea Lauersdorf (22).
WINS VERSUS LOSSES
In their 21 victories this season, the Bulldogs are averaging 13.18 kills, 16.73 digs and 12.00 assists per game, while limiting their opponents to 11.71 kills, 16.05 digs and 10.94 assists. In its 10 setbacks, Drake has registered 11.74 kills, 16.68 digs and 10.97 assists per frame, while seeing the opposition record 14.79 kills, 19.21 digs and 13.91 assists.
IN OUR LAST MEETINGS
Drake 3, Bradley 0 (Sept. 19, 2009)
DES MOINES, IOWA - Led by a .330 attack percentage, Drake defeated Bradley 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) to earn its first MVC win of the season.
Game one was back and forth until Drake broke open a 16-16 tie, ending the game on a 9-2 run led by five Bradley attack errors and kills from Emily Madden, Michelle Reidy and Alisa DeBerg Roth.
After another deadlock at 14-14 in game two, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-14 lead. The run was fueled by three Braves attack errors, a Reidy kill, a Emily Heffernen/DeBerg Roth block and a Erika Price service ace.
Drake went on an early run 5-0 in game three, breaking an 8-8 tie to take a 13-8 lead. The Bulldogs would hold the lead for the remainder of the game, scoring the final four points on two kills from Reidy and a kill and service ace from Mikayla Sims.
Reidy had a team-leading .440 attack percentage, 12 kills and five blocks. DeBerg Roth and Sims added six kills and two blocks apiece. Madden ended the match with five kills, four digs and two blocks.
Chelsea Lauersdorf and Caitlin Johnson split time at setter, recording 17 assists each. Alana Wittenburg led the defense with 24 digs, followed by Lindsay Schryver with seven and Johnson with six.
The Bulldogs edged Bradley in kills (39-37), attack percentage (.330-.078), assists (37-33), digs (58-57) and blocks (6-0). The Braves held a 5-3 advantage in service aces.
Northern Iowa 3, Drake 0 (Sept. 18, 2009)
DES MOINES, IOWA - Poor hitting plagued Drake as it fell to Northern Iowa, 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-13).
Drake compiled an attack percentage of .119 with 27 kills and 14 errors on 109 total attacks. On the other side, the Panthers hit at a .404 clip with 54 kills and eight errors on 114 attacks.
The Bulldogs were led by Angela Bys and Emily Heffernen with nine and seven kills, respectively. Heffernen had a consistent night with a .467 attack percentage (seven kills, 0 errors, 15 attempts).
Chelsea Lauersdorf had a team-high 19 assists, while Caitlin Johnson added seven assists. Alana Wittenburg broke her 10-game streak of double-digit digs, collecting nine on the night.
Northern Iowa topped Drake in kills (54-27), assists (49-27), digs (58-42), service aces (3-0) and blocks (6-2).
UP NEXT
For the first time since 1998, Drake will compete in the State Farm MVC Championship against a to-be-determined opponent on Nov. 26.
