ST LOUIS, MO.- Drake volleyball seniors Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) and Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Waspie Valley) and sophomore Emily Heffernen  (Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware) were rewarded for their work in the classroom by collecting All-Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete accolades.

"Those three have worked just as hard in the classroom as they have on the court," head coach Phil McDaniel said. "All of their hard work and effort have paid off for them."

A secondary education major, Bys garnered first team honors for the third consecutive year and owns a 3.75 GPA.  She has started all 33 matches for Drake and leads the Bulldogs with 3.51 kills per set.

Majoring in health sciences, Wittenburg collected honorable mention laurels for the second year in a row sporting a 3.38 GPA. Wittenburg, already the single game, single season and all-time digs record holder at Drake, broke the MVC single-season digs record of 698 in a home victory against Southern Illinois Nov. 19. Her total stands at 745 with the State Farm MVC Tournament in Cedar Falls still on the docket.

Heffernen, a biochemistry, cell and molecular biology major, earned first team honors with a perfect 4.00 GPA. She also sports the best attack percentage on the team with a .307 clip and is second on the team with kills per set with 2.13.

The Bulldogs open play at the State Farm MVC Championship on Thursday (Nov. 26) battling Creighton at 6 p.m. at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.