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Drake Hosts Hampton Inn Bulldog Challenge This Weekend

Women's Volleyball Drake Athletics

Drake Hosts Hampton Inn Bulldog Challenge This Weekend

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Sept. 10     GREEN BAY                 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 10     IDAHO STATE               7:30 p.m.
Sept. 11     SOUTH DAKOTA           12:00 p.m.
Sept. 11     STEPHEN F AUSTIN      7:30 p.m.

THIS WEEK IN DRAKE VOLLEYBALL
    Drake hosts the Hampton Inn Bulldog Challenge this weekend. The Bulldogs welcome Green Bay, Idaho State, South Dakota and Stephen F. Austin to the Knapp Center for the second tournament in as many weeks at Drake.

WATCH VOLLEYBALL ONLINE, FOR FREE
    Every Drake volleyball match will be streamed live online, for free. Visit
www.godrakebulldogs.com for more information.
   
ABOUT DRAKE
    The Bulldogs are a perfect 9-0 on the season and added to their trophy case last week, winning the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational after taking top honors at the North Dakota Classic Aug. 27-28.
    As a team, the Bulldogs are outhitting opponents by more than 100 points (.222-.119) thanks in large part to high-percentage hitters Mikayla Sims and Emily Heffernen. Sims has a team-best .315 attack percentage, good enough for sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Heffernen's .291 clip is eighth in the MVC. Heffernen also is fifth in the Valley with 1.12 blocks per set.
    Alana Wittenburg became the all-time Drake record holder in digs last season and is picking up where she left off this year. Her 187 digs on the season top the conference.

STARTING HOT
    Drake's 9-0 start to the 2010 season is the best start of any Drake team in the modern era (1995-present). The Bulldogs passed the 2008 and 1995 team's 6-0 starts with a five-set victory over North Dakota last Saturday.

RECORD KILL
    With the first Drake point of the second set against Green Bay, Angela Bys registered her 1,233rd career kill, eclipsing Eve Johnson's (2003-06) all-time Drake kills record.

NEXT TO FALL
    Angela Bys passed former Drake great Emily Madden (2006-09) in career attempts Sunday against North Dakota State. Bys has 3,677 career attempts and is just 221 short of Eve Johnson's all-time Drake record of 3,898.

STREAK STAT
    Drake's nine-match winning streak is the second longest streak in program history and longest since the 1996 team won 10-straight between Sept. 7 and Oct. 12, 1996.

HOME STREAK
    Drake's 10-match home winning streak, dating back to a three-set victory over South Dakota on Oct. 7, 2009, is the longest such streak since the 1995 and '96 teams also won 10 straight at home.

ALL-TOURNEY
    Senior outside hitter Angela Bys and junior outside hitter Mikayla Sims were named to the all-tournament team at last week's Hampton Inn Drake Invitational. Bys tallied a team-best 41 kills for the tournament and tied a match high with 16 against the Fighting Sioux. Sims notched 22 kills and hit an incredible .391 during the tournament. Senior libero Alana Wittenburg was named Tournament MVP after registering 84 digs in Drake's three matches, including a team-best 28 in the championship tilt against the Fighting Sioux.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Green Bay
    The Phoenix are 2-5 overall and dropped a four set match to Drake last Friday at the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational. Green Bay is led by Abbey Gitter's 66 kills and .237 attack percentage. Setter Whitney Schott leads the Phoenix with 205 assists
    Green Bay is coached by 14th-year head coach Debbie Kirch.
Idaho State
    The Bengals are 4-2 overall with wins over Texas Pan-American, Oral Roberts, Lamar and Cal Poly. Idaho Sate is coming off a three-set loss to No. 7 Nebraska.
    Senior Haylee Thompson-Brock leads the Bengals with 80 kills on the season, including a team-best nine last week against Nebraska. Setter Lori Mendenhall leads Idaho State with 200 assists.
    Idaho State is coached by third-year head coach Chad Teichert.
South Dakota
    The Coyotes are 2-7 overall with wins over Oakland and Chicago State. Kristin Kritenbrink has been South Dakota's most prominent attacker thus far and leads the team with 79 kills and 286 total attempts. Coyote setter Tori Kroll tops the team with 252 assists.
    South Dakota is coached by third year coach Matt Houk.
Stephen F. Austin
    Stephen F. Austin went winless last weekend at the Shocker Classic in Wichita, Kan., dropping two matches to Portland and one to Wichita State. Kelsey Owens leads the Lumberjacks with 77 kills and 250 attempts. Mary Caitlin Bottles leads Stephen F. Austin with a .353 attack percentage and is second in total blocks with 21.

DRAKE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
•  Drake is 9-2 all time against Green Bay, including last Friday's four-set victory.
•  The Bulldogs have never played Idaho State.
•  Drake is 2-2 against South Dakota with the Bulldogs winning the last matchup, 3-1, Nov.
    9, 2009.
•  Drake is 0-2 all-time against Stephen F. Austin. The Bulldogs dropped a four-set decision
    to the Lumberjacks Sept. 2, 2005.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
    Angela Bys tallied five-straight double-doubles, dating back to Drake's five set victory at North Dakota, before snapping the streak Tuesday at UMKC.

ANGELA BYS - DOUBLE-DOUBLE STREAK
GAME                          KILLS    DIGS    SCORE
at North Dakota               18         14        W, 3-2
Green Bay                      12         15        W, 3-1
Southern Utah                 13         10        W, 3-0
North Dakota                   16         23       W, 3-2
North Dakota State          16         12       W, 3-1

FOIL OF NORTH DAKOTA
    Drake has defeated North Dakota twice this season, with both matches serving as tournament championships and both matches lasting five sets. Drake athletic teams are 3-0 against the Fighting Sioux this season, including a 3-1 victory in women's soccer on Aug. 27. The Bulldogs are schedule to meet North Dakota three more times during the 2010-11 academic year.

DRAKE VS. NORTH DAKOTA - 2010-11
DATE           SPORT                    TIME/RESULT
Aug. 27        Women's Soccer           W, 3-1
Aug. 28        Volleyball                      W, 3-2
Sept. 4         Volleyball                      W, 3-2
Dec. 8          Women's Basketball     1 p.m.
Feb. 11-13    Softball                          TBA
Mar. 3-5        Softball                         TBA

THREE ON ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
    Senior outside hitters Angela Bys and Alisa DeBerg Roth, along with senior libero Alana Wittenburg were named to the North Dakota Classic all-tournament team Aug. 28. Bys earned Tournament MVP honors after leading Drake in kills during all four games. DeBerg Roth tallied 28 total kills for the Bulldogs, while Wittenburg was Drake's top defensive player with 62 digs.

SET STREAK
    The Bulldogs won their first nine sets of the season, tying for the second-most consecutive sets won since 1995. The longest Drake win streak in the modern era was 15 straight sets in 1996.

CONSECUTIVE SETS WON (MODERN ERA)
DATE                OPPONENTS                                                        STREAK
8/30-9/6/96        Green Bay, St. Louis, UMKC, Murray State, LSU      15
8/27-8/28/10      Gonzaga, Cal State Bakersfield, San Jose State         9
9/4-9/5/09          Valparaiso, Texas A&M-CC, Centenary                      9
9/6-9/9/03          Louisiana-Monroe, UT-Chattanooga, Iowa                   9
10/17-10/23/98   Indiana State, Western Illinois, Bradley                      9

NEW DIGS
    After a generous donation from Hy-Vee, the Knapp Center court was resurfaced over the summer and named in honor of Drake graduate and former Hy-Vee Chief Executive Officer Ron Pearson. With a new name and a Hy-Vee brand, the Ron Pearson Court is a shining example of Drake University's continued commitment to athletic facilities and Hy-Vee's commitment to the Des Moines community.

2010 CAPTAINS SELECTED
    Juniors Mikayla Sims and Caitlin Johnson and senior Alana Wittenburg have been selected as team captains. Sims tallied 110 kills and a .201 attack percentage last season while Johnson is one of two primary setters this season. Wittenburg is the most prolific statistical defensive specialist in Drake history and is a leader at the libero position.
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Players Mentioned

Angela Bys

#13 Angela Bys

OH
6' 1"
Senior
Alisa DeBerg Roth

#12 Alisa DeBerg Roth

OH
6' 3"
Senior
Emily Heffernen

#15 Emily Heffernen

MB
6' 0"
Sophomore
Caitlin Johnson

#10 Caitlin Johnson

S
5' 9"
Junior
Mikayla Sims

#3 Mikayla Sims

OH
5' 11"
Junior
Alana Wittenburg

#2 Alana Wittenburg

DS/L
5' 2"
Senior
Emily Madden

#21 Emily Madden

OH
5' 10"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Angela Bys

#13 Angela Bys

6' 1"
Senior
OH
Alisa DeBerg Roth

#12 Alisa DeBerg Roth

6' 3"
Senior
OH
Emily Heffernen

#15 Emily Heffernen

6' 0"
Sophomore
MB
Caitlin Johnson

#10 Caitlin Johnson

5' 9"
Junior
S
Mikayla Sims

#3 Mikayla Sims

5' 11"
Junior
OH
Alana Wittenburg

#2 Alana Wittenburg

5' 2"
Senior
DS/L
Emily Madden

#21 Emily Madden

5' 10"
Senior
OH