TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – A pair of Missouri Valley Conference road matches are on the slate for the Drake University volleyball team this week as it visits Indiana State (Oct. 17) before traveling to Illinois State (Oct. 18). First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Indiana State and 7 p.m. at Illinois State. Live stats for each match will be available at www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
REWIND
Drake (9-9, 1-6 MVC) dropped home contests to Southern Illinois, 3-1, and Evansville, 3-1, this past weekend. The Bulldogs took the opening set in each match, but couldn't hold off the Salukis and the Purple Aces, as they have just one victory in their last nine matches.
Against SIU, Drake had three players, led by senior Amanda Platte (Mount Vernon, Iowa) with 12, finish with double figure kills. Junior Katie Dulek (Lenexa, Kan.) tallied 11 kills with zero attack errors, and a sterling .688 hitting percentage, while sophomore Makena Schoene (Seattle, Wash.) had 11. Dulek and Platte teamed up on several block assists as they each recorded five blocks, and Platte added 13 digs to have a double-double.
The following night in the matchup against Evansville, Schoene crushed a career-high 20 kills and sophomore Chandelle Davidson (Gretna, Neb.) guided Drake's offense with her second consecutive double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs. Platte just missed her second-straight double-double as she recorded 15 kills and eight digs.
TURNAROUND
Even with its recent struggles, the 2014 team has already surpassed the win total (7) from the previous two seasons combined. The Bulldogs captured two tournament titles, the Omaha Classic and the Akron Invitational, this season. After finishing No. 303 in the final RPI rankings of the 2013 campaign, the Bulldogs are No. 193 in the latest RPI rankings of the 2014 campaign.
SCOUTING INDIANA STATE
In MVC play last weekend, Indiana State (12-6, 4-3 MVC) collected a pair of sweeps at Loyola and Bradley. The Sycamores have won four of their last five matches going into their non-conference road contest at Saint Louis tonight. Indiana State currently ranks first in several offensive and defensive categories in the conference, including aces (1.60 per set), kills allowed (11.47), assists allowed (10.59) and blocks allowed (1.56).
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
Illinois State (13-5, 7-0 MVC), which is currently riding a nine-match winning streak, will host UNI (Oct. 17) on Friday night in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds and the Panthers are the MVC's only unbeaten teams in conference action. Emily Orrick and Jaelyn Kenne of Illinois State were named the MVC Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, by the league office this past Monday. Orrick leads The Valley in digs per set at 5.13, and Kenne paces the conference in blocks per set at 1.10, while ranking fourth in hitting percentage (.357) and eighth in points per set at 3.46.
STEPPING UP
Platte continues to play well as she has smashed 71 kills in MVC action after missing most of the Bulldogs' final non-conference tournament at UT-Martin on Sept. 12-13. She has stepped up on defense for the Bulldogs with 105 digs on the season, which is a career high.
INSTANT IMPACT
Even after missing the last two matches due to injury, freshman Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) leads Drake with 186 kills and a 3.15 kills per set average in her first season. Her kills per set average and points per set average (3.53) each rank seventh in the conference. She was named the MVP and to the all-tournament team at both the Omaha Classic and at the Akron Invitational. She collected back-to-back MVC Freshman of the Week awards for her efforts at the first two tournaments. The freshman has also provided strong defense as she ranks second on the team in digs with 128.
INSTANT IMPACT PART 2
Sophomore Nicole Woods (St. Charles, Ill.) is another first-year player in the program contributing to the team's success. Woods, who played her freshman season at the University of Memphis, has smashed 124 kills to rank second on the squad behind Inderski. Woods was named to the all-tournament team at the Omaha Classic as the Bulldogs claimed the tournament title.
DIGGING IN
Sophomore Michelle Thommi (Omaha, Neb.) has stepped into the starting lineup at the libero position this season and provided strong back row defense with recording a team-leading 300 digs. Thommi is averaging a team-high 4.41 digs per set, which ranks fourth in the conference.
WELCOME BACK
Junior middle blocker Katie Dulek (Lenexa, Kan.) has provided a steady presence in the middle for Drake. Dulek, who missed all but nine matches last season due to a shoulder injury, has recorded a team-high 63 blocks this year. She posted .857 and .636 hitting percentages in the wins over Austin Peay and Binghamton, respectively. The .857 hitting percentage is a career-best.
QUICK LEARNER
Sophomore Capris Quaites (Omaha, Neb.), who at 5-9 is the shortest middle blocker in The Valley, continues to shine at her new position. Quaites moved to the middle after spending her freshman season at outside hitter and last played middle blocker in high school. At the Skyhawk Invitational, Quaites tallied 20 kills and four blocks and was named to the all-tournament team. The Omaha, Neb., native ranks second on the team in blocks with 39 and third in kills with 93.
READY WHEN CALLED ON
Schoene has established herself as one of the Bulldogs top hitters by averaging 8.17 kills per match in MVC play. The Seattle, Wash. native, who filled in for Inderski in the starting lineup last weekend, ranks third on the squad in kills with 119.
SPARK PLUG
Redshirt freshman Taylor Zant (Libertyville, Ill.) provided a spark in her second career match for Drake against Bryant. Zant, who earlier in the day made her career debut in the win over Austin Peay, connected for seven kills along with a .429 attack percentage in the sweep over the Bryant Bulldogs.
HOME SWEET HOME
Earlier this season at the Omaha Classic, Drake had several Nebraska natives have stellar performances in their home state. Thommi, who played for Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha, was named to the all-tournament team. She started all three matches at the libero position, and led the squad in digs with 58.
Junior Shelby Daum from Battle Creek, Neb., came off the bench and smashed 27 total kills in the three matches. Daum and Quaites, who played at Westside Omaha High School, partnered on a block assist for the final point in the victory over Central Michigan. Quaites started every match at one of the middle blocker positions for Drake. Davidson, who played her freshman season at Hastings College (Neb.), started every match at the setter position and led the team in assists with 74.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs stay in the state of Iowa as they will visit UNI on Oct. 25 with first serve slated for 7 p.m. Drake returns home on Oct. 31 when it hosts Wichita State at 7 p.m. at the Knapp Center.
COACHING STAFF
Head coach Darrin McBroom, who was hired to lead the Bulldogs after four seasons as head coach of the Iowa Western Reivers, will have a roster in his second season that features a solid mix of returnees, newcomers, redshirts and players returning from injuries. McBroom will push his team as it looks to bounce back from a tough 2013 season that saw the team go winless in conference play. McBroom, who compiled an outstanding 177-25 record in four years at Iowa Western, is confident with his returning players experience within his system and the new players on the roster, that the team will take a step forward in 2014.
Iowa Western won four consecutive NJCAA Regional Championships under McBroom, and he was named the 2012 Midwest Region Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Iowa Western finished the 2012 season ranked third nationally and was ranked as high as number one that fall.
McBroom owned one of the highest winning percentages among coaches in the NJCAA at 85 percent with an overall record of 322-58 in eight seasons. He coached 12 NJCAA All-Americans and had three student-athletes named NJCAA Academic All-Americans.
Prior to Iowa Western, McBroom was the head coach of Longview Community College (Mo.) for four seasons. McBroom's coaching career started at the high school level in the Kansas City area, where he spent seven seasons accumulating a 174-68-9 record.
Assistant coach Leslie Flores-Cloud returns for her second season. Prior to Drake, she was the head girls' volleyball coach at Maranatha High School in Pasadena, Calif. She guided the team to a second-place finish in the conference and a spot in the SCIF Olympic league playoffs.
Flores-Cloud has seven years of combined experience as a head coach or assistant at the club, high school and collegiate levels. Prior to Maranatha, she was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Southern California in 2011 and a volunteer assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University in 2010. The Trojans advanced to the NCAA Final Four during her season on the staff.
Flores-Cloud also spent two years as an assistant coach at Pasadena City College, which included a highly successful 2009 season as the team won the South Coast Conference championship.
The California native was a two-year All-SCIAC setter at Division III powerhouse the University of La Verne (Calif.). She helped La Verne reach the NCAA Division III national Final Four in three of the four years she was on the squad. Flores-Cloud was a member of the All-Tournament team at the 2005 Division III Final Four.
New to the Drake coaching staff this season is assistant coach Nicollette Hartley, who was hired in July. Hartley spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo. In 2013, she helped the Hawks capture their first-ever Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament title as the team qualified for the Division II NCAA Tournament.
Hartley played for McBroom for two seasons at Longview before finishing her playing career at Rockhurst. She was a two-year starter at middle hitter at Rockhurst, and recorded 494 kills. She was twice named to the National Junior College Athletic Association all-region first team at Longview and helped the team finish ninth in the nation in 2007.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
Drake was picked to finish tenth in the 2014 MVC preseason poll conducted by league coaches. Wichita State received 87 points and four first-place votes as the Shockers narrowly out-distanced second-place pick UNI (85 points, two first-place votes) and third-place Illinois State (78 points, three first-place votes).
