The Drake University volleyball team continues to crisscross the country as the team travels to Worcester, Mass., this weekend for the Holy Cross Invitational.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to play three matches starting with Friday's 11 a.m. CDT match against Rhode Island followed by a 6 p.m. contest against the host, Holy Cross. The Bulldogs' tournament concludes with a 2 p.m. match against Columbia.
Drake travels to Massachusetts with a perfect 3-0 record after opening the season with three-straight, three-set wins to capture the Sam Houston State Invitational Tournament. Elle Tubbs (Clinton, Iowa) was named the tournament MVP for her efforts in the middle while
Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) and
Kylee Macke (Ankeny, Iowa) also garnered all-tournament honors.
The season-opening tournament win marked the fifth-straight year the Bulldogs have opened the season with a tournament title. During that span, the Bulldogs are 16-2 in the opening weekend of the season.
Drake's defense helped propel the team to the SHSU Tournament title as Drake held its opponents to just .019 hitting in the three sweeps at the SHSU Tournament. All three opponents hit less than .100, the first time Drake has accomplished that feat in nearly a decade. The Bulldogs' opponent hitting percentage currently ranks second in the nation.
That defense will face three teams that are all looking for their first win of the season. Columbia will be opening its season while Holy Cross is off to an 0-4 start and Rhode Island is 0-3.
Drake's three games in Worcester also mark the first time the Bulldogs have played in the Bay State.
Following the Holy Cross Invitational, the Bulldogs return to campus to host the Hotel Renovo-Wildwood Lodge Invitational at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs will host South Dakota State, Eastern Illinois, UMass-Lowell and in-state rival Iowa as part of the two-day tournament starting Friday, Sept. 7.
