The Drake University volleyball team continues the Missouri Valley Conference season this weekend with a pair of matches at Illinois State and Indiana State. The Bulldogs, with a 2-1 MVC record in tow, face Illinois State State on Friday evening at 7 p.m. Followed by a 6 p.m. (CDT) Saturday match at Indiana State. Saturday's match will be broadcast on ESPN3.

 

Drake (11-9) opened the MVC season last Friday with a 3-set sweep of Evansville and on Monday improved to 2-1 in the MVC with a come-from-behind, 3-1, victory at Loyola on Monday to snap the Ramblers' 11-match win streak. Drake's Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) and Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) each notched double-doubles in that win with 11 kills and 10 digs each. Schofield has led the Bulldogs in MVC play with 2.8 kills per set.

Standing in the Bulldogs' way of improving their MVC record is defending league champion, Illinois State. The Redbirds went 27-6 a season ago in advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The squad is 10-5 overall this season and 0-2 in the MVC after falling to Wichita State and Missouri State during the opening week of the conference season. Ashley Rosch is averaging 3.79 kills per set this season as the Redbirds are hitting .246 as a team.

 

On Saturday, the Bulldogs face an Indiana State team that is currently 11-6 overall and 0-2 in MVC action after losing to Wichita State and Missouri State to open the conference slate. The Sycamores face league-leading UNI on Friday evening prior to taking on the Bulldogs. Bree Spangler has been the team's top offensive threat to date with 200 kills on the season for a 2.94 kills per set average. Last season the teams split the season series with each winning on its home floor.

 

Following this weekend's matches, the Bulldogs return home to host two of the top teams in the MVC in Missouri State and Wichita State on Oct. 9 and 10, respectively.