DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University volleyball team opens its 2014 home portion of the schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 2 as North Dakota visits the Knapp Center at 6 p.m. Following the home opener against UND, Drake travels to the Akron Invitational for four matches from Sept. 5-6. The Bulldogs will take on Austin Peay, Bryant, Akron and Binghamton in Akron, Ohio.
REWIND
Drake (3-0) captured the 2014 DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Omaha Classic title last weekend with wins over UMKC, Omaha and Central Michigan. The Bulldogs went five sets in all three matches as the team has already surpassed their total wins of two from a season ago. The non-conference tournament title is the first for the program since winning the Hampton Inn Bulldog Challenge in 2010.
WELCOME
The Bulldogs were paced offensively in Omaha by a pair of newcomers. Freshman Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) recorded double figure kills in each match and finished with 46 on her way to being named the tournament MVP and earning a spot on the all-tournament team. Sophomore transfer Nicole Woods (St. Charles, Ill.), who joined the Bulldogs after one season at Memphis University, blasted 35 kills as she was also named to the all-tournament team.
WELCOME HOME
Along with the impressive play by Inderski and Woods, Drake had several Nebraska natives have stellar performances in their home state. Sophomore Michelle Thommi, who played for Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha, was the other Bulldog to be 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 sophomore Capris 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. Sophomore Chandelle Davidson (Gretna, Neb.), who played her freshman season at Hastings College (Neb.), started every match at the setter position and led the team in assists with 74.
WELCOME BACK
Junior Katie Dulek (Lenexa, Kan.), who missed all but nine matches in 2013 due to a shoulder injury, started every match in Omaha, and led the team in blocks with 15. Dulek started 29 matches at middle blocker her freshman season.
LOOKING AHEAD
NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota is off to a 1-2 start in 2014 under first-year head coach Mark Pryor. North Dakota beat Arkansas State, and lost to George Washington and Auburn at its opening tournament in Washington D.C. Senior outside hitter Lexi Robinson leads the team in kills with 46, while senior setter Nikki Husfeldt guides the offense with 115 assists.
AUSTIN PEAY
The Governors are 0-3 on the young season, and have dropped every match in three sets. Austin Peay is scheduled to play at Evansville on Tuesday night.
BRYANT
Bryant is off to a 1-3 start with a win over UMass Lowell. The Bulldogs are scheduled to host Providence on Tuesday night.
BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats are 0-3 on the season and have been swept in each match. Sisters Allison and Kristin Hoovie lead the team in kills with 22 and 15, respectively.
AKRON
Akron with a 2-1 overall record opened the season at the Indiana State Tournament and picked up wins over Chicago State and N.C. A&T, but were swept by Indiana State. The Zips are scheduled to play at Cleveland State on Tuesday night.
COACHING STAFF
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 they look to bounce back from a tough 2013 season that saw the team go winless in conference play. McBroom, who compiled an outstanding 177-25 overall 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 amongst 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 overall 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 Nicolette 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.
SCHEDULE
Drake will have 11 non-conference matches to open the season with 10 of those matches at three different tournaments throughout the country. After its opening weekend trip to Omaha, the team will host North Dakota on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. in its only home non-conference match. Following the North Dakota match, the Bulldogs will travel to the Akron Invitational, Sept. 5-6, for contests against Akron, Austin Peay, Bryant and Binghamton. The final tournament will take place in Martin, Tenn. at the Skyhawk Invitational, where the Bulldogs will open against host, UT-Martin then play Valparaiso and Western Carolina.
Three straight home matches kick off the MVC portion of the schedule for Drake. Up first is Bradley on Sept. 19 followed by Loyola the following night and capped with a visit by UNI on Sept. 27. The Bulldogs will have 18 matches during the always challenging conference season.
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).
