The Drake University volleyball team returns to the road this weekend to take on the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference with matches at Missouri State and Wichita State.
The brief road trip begins on Friday evening with a 7 p.m. match at Missouri State, followed on Saturday by a 7 p.m. contest at Wichita State. Both matches will be broadcast via
The Valley On ESPN3.
Last Friday, Missouri State ended Wichita State's five-match win streak with a 3-1 win on to create an 8-2 tie for first in the MVC standings. The Bears have won eight-straight matches heading into Friday's match.
The Bulldogs have won two of their last three matches to improve to 4-6 in the MVC standings and reside in seventh place. Both MSU and WSU have matching 8-2 records at the top of the league table. Earlier this season, Drake fell to WSU, 3-0, but thoroughly tested Missouri State in a 3-2 loss at the Knapp Center. Three Bulldogs had 10 or more kills in that loss, but could not slow down Lily Johnson, who had 33 kills for the victorious Bears.
Odessa Cody matched a then career high in that loss to MSU with 10 kills. In her last outing she posted a career-high 19 kills on 42 attempts against Evansville and has now recorded 10 or more kills in two of her last three matches.
Defensively,
Michelle Thommi currently has 460 digs for the season, the most in the MVC this season and the ninth most in a season in Drake history. Her previous two seasons with the Bulldogs also ranked in the top 10 and her 1,436 career digs rank fourth all-time.
In its wins this season, Drake is hitting .230 while averaging 0.20 more blocks per set than its opponents. In losses, the Bulldogs are hitting just .153 while facing a 0.8 blocks per set deficit. Meanwhile Drake's four-set win over Evansville improved the team to 5-4 in four-set matches. Drake also has a winning record in three-set matches at 6-3, but just 2-4 in five-set affairs. However, the Bulldogs have enjoyed success away from home this season with a 6-3 record in road games and a 2-2 mark in MVC road games.
Following this weekend's matches, the Bulldogs return to the comfort of the Knapp Center for a rare Monday match against Indiana State. First serve on Oct. 31 is set for 7 p.m. The match will be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Sycamores this season.
