GRAND FORKS, N.D. -
The Drake University volleyball team swept its way to a 2-0 start to the 2010
season, Friday, earning a 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-18) victory over Gonzaga in its
season premiere and sweeping Cal State Bakersfield (25-13, 25-13, 25-22) in its
second contest at the North Dakota Classic in Grand Forks, N.D.
"We're halfway to ending the weekend the way we want to,"
said head coach Phil McDaniel. "It
was nice to get out there and see someone who wasn't in blue and white."
Senior outside hitter Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa) led Drake with 21 kills, including a
game-best 11 against Cal State Bakersfield. Junior middle blocker Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa) tallied eight kills and led all
players with five block assists against Gonzaga. Reidy added six kills against
the Roadrunners.
As a team, Drake hit .402 in 82 total attempts against
Cal State Bakersfield. The Bulldogs hit .227 against Gonzaga with a multitude
of errors leading to a .015 attack percentage for the 'Zags.
Senior libero Alana
Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa) added to her Drake career digs record with 31
total digs on the day.
Junior setter Caitlin
Johnson (Sycamore, Ill.) tallied 37 assists on the day, falling one short
of a career-high with 20 against Gonzaga.
"I was very happy with our defensive effort and our
ability to stay in-system," McDaniel added. "We've got a few things to work on,
but overall I was pretty happy with how we played."
Drake continues play at the North Dakota Classic on
Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. contest against San Jose State and a 7:30 p.m.
matchup against host North Dakota.
