DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University volleyball team returns to its home court Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. to begin a two-game homestand against Missouri State and Wichita State.

The action begins Friday night versus Missouri State followed by a 7 p.m. Saturday match against Wichita State. The Bears make their annual trek to Des Moines in a three-way tie atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings at 3-1 in the league and 12-5 overall. Wichita State owns an identical 3-1 conference record with the lone loss coming to Missouri State.  

The Bulldogs return home with a 3-2 mark in MVC action, their best conference record to open MVC play since 2010. Of the Bulldogs' three conference wins, two have been on the road in come-from-behind fashion including last Saturday's 3-2 win at Indiana State that saw Drake rally from an 0-2 deficit.

Freshman Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) has led the Bulldogs in league games with 2.68 kills per set and a team-high five aces. Defensively, junior Michelle Thommi (Omaha, Neb.) has 76 digs against league opponents, including 24 in the win over ISU.

MSU is led by sophomore All-American Lily Johnson with 4.17 kills per set this season and 2.74 digs per set. The team, which ranks 22nd nationally in the most recent NCAA RPI, is coming off of its first MVC loss of the season, a 3-2 defeat at SIU on Monday evening.

The Shockers are paced by Abbie Lehman's 3.20 kills per set in MVC games while the team is hitting .273, the highest percentage in the league. Setter Emily Hiebert leads the league in assists with 12.13 per set against MVC foes.

Following this weekend's contests, the Bulldogs will take to the road for their next four matches.