DES MOINES, IOWA - With three-game sweeps over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Centenary, the Drake volleyball team won the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational Saturday. The Bulldogs topped the Islanders 25-15, 25-12, 25-15 in the morning session and closed the tournament with a 25-19, 25-10, 25-16 sweep of Centenary.
Junior libero Alana Wittenburg (Redlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by senior setter Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown), junior outside hitter Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) and sophomore middle blocker Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic). It marked Lauersdorf's second all-tournament honor in as many weeks.
The Bulldogs finished the tournament with a 3-1 record and won the tie-breaker with South Dakota and Valparaiso, which also finished 3-1 overall. The second tie-breaker, after head-to-head, was winning percentage in games played. Drake finished 11-3 while South Dakota finished 11-6 and Valparaiso recorded a 9-6 record.
"The themes for today were defense and transition attacking and we did both very well," said Drake head coach Phil McDaniel. "I thought we took care of the ball very well in the back row and we played very solid defense but all that was helped by our ability to block."
Drake dominated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in kills (45-28), attack percentage (.437-.108), assists (42-25), digs (39-28) and blocks (11-4).
The Bulldogs were led in the morning session by DeBerg Roth with 10 kills and a career high .625 attack percentage. Lauersdorf and Wittenburg had a team-leading 25 assists and 15 digs, respectively while redshirt freshman middle blocker Emily Heffernen (Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware) added six blocks, along with five kills and a .500 attack percentage.
Redshirt sophomore Mikayla Sims (Waterloo, Iowa/East) had a career-high .800 attack percentage with nine kills and one error on 10 attempts.
In the win over Centenary senior outside hitter Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) paced the Bulldogs with 11 kills and six digs.
Lauersdorf, sophomore Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore Community) and junior Susan Clausen (Johnston, Iowa/Winona State/Johnston) collected 22, six and six assists, respectively and Lauersdorf led the way with 14 digs.
Freshman Whitney Westrum (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) and Bentley Mancini (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley) took advantage of their playing time, recording four kills apiece. Mancini hit .800 for the Bulldogs and Westrum recorded a .667 attack percentage.
"We had some outstanding performances from veterans as well as our young core group," commented McDaniel.
Next up for the Bulldogs is the Hawkeye Challenge, next Friday and Saturday (Sept. 11 and 12). Drake faces Northern Colorado Friday at 4:30 p.m. and Iowa State and Iowa Saturday at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
"As we look forward we need the defensive intensity to continue," noted McDaniel. "We have a tough tournament next weekend and it will be a good test to see if we can continue playing at this level."
All-Tournament Team
Alana Wittenburg - Drake - MVP
Chelsea Lauersdorf - Drake
Alisa DeBerg Roth - Drake
Michelle Reidy - Drake
Kristin Kritenbrink - South Dakota
Tahnee Reed - South Dakota
Taylor Root - Valparaiso
Katie Britton - Valparaiso
Emma Ridley - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
