The Drake University volleyball team is set to play its third match in four days on Monday, Oct. 3, evening when it welcomes Illinois State to the Knapp Center. First serve is set for 6 p.m. with the match being broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3.

Monday's Missouri Valley Conference match continues Drake's challenging start to the MVC schedule as five of the Bulldogs' first six MVC games will come against teams picked to finish in the top half of the league. 

Illinois State sits on top of the MVC standings with a perfect 4-0 league record and has won eight-straight matches with six of them coming in three sets. The Redbirds are led by Jaelyn Keene's 3.05 kills per set on .473 hitting while Courtney Pence is one of the MVC's top defenders with 322 digs this season.

Despite coming off back-to-back home losses, the Bulldogs have shown continual improvement against some of the top teams in the Valley and aim to continue that team and individual trajectory into Monday's match.

One of those individuals, junior Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) needs just 28 kills and 21 digs to reach 900 for her career in each category. She is coming off of her eighth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 13 digs against Missouri State. On the other side of the court, senior Makena Schoene (Seattle, Wash.) has recorded double-digit kills in five of the last six matches and is hitting .255 during that span.

In between those two, middle blocker Kameo Pope (Belle Plaine, Iowa) is coming off two strong games with 14 kills and eight blocks in the last two matches.

Following Monday's contest, the Bulldogs remain at home to host UNI on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.