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DES MOINES, IA - November 23: The Drake Bulldogs play against the Loyola Ramblers during a Missouri Valley Conference women volleyball match at Knapp Center on Saturday, November 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Dylan Heuer)
Dylan Heuer

Women's Volleyball Drake Athletic Communications

Volleyball Returns To Competition With Three Matches At The Knapp Center

Bulldogs open up the season and MVC play against UNI

The Drake University volleyball team begins its season this weekend with three matches in three days, including the Missouri Valley Conference opener. The Bulldogs open the weekend Friday against UNI at 5 p.m., followed by a contest against Western Illinois Saturday at 2 p.m. and a 1 p.m. Sunday match against South Dakota State. Friday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Saturday and Sunday's matches will be on ESPN3.

Limited fan attendance will be allowed in accordance with local and University COVID-19 protocols. More information on ticketing and policies can be found at DrakeTix.com.

The Bulldogs, who have not competed in more than a year due to the COVID-19 global pandemic find themselves well experienced with 11 players returning from the 2019 season. 

Among those returning is Emily Plock, an All-MVC selection in 2019 after setting the school record with 472 kills. She stands just eight kills shy of moving into 10th place all-time in career kills, which should be an easy feat as Plock had 20 or more kills seven times against MVC opponents in 2019. Prior to the start of this season, Plock was named a preseason All-MVC selection by the league's coaches.

Drake also returns one of its top defenders in Kylee Macke. She currently sits at second place in all-time in digs at Drake with 1,678. Macke, just like Plock, found tremendous success last year with 615 digs and established herself fourth all-time for digs in an individual season. All three of her seasons as a Bulldog rank in the top-11 in Drake history. 

The team's top defender at the net, Gillian Gergen, also returns after averaging nearly a block per set in 2019.

The Bulldogs added six incoming freshmen to their roster along with Lindsey Pliapol, a transfer from USF who led the Bulls with 3.10 kills per set in her sophomore season. They also gained back a healthy Haley Bush who suffered a season-ending injury against Indiana State in 2019 after opening the season as one of the top hitters in the league as a freshman.

Drake was picked ninth out of 10 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches poll after losing starters Elle Tubbs and Paige Aspinwall. 

Drake's head coach, Darrin McBroom, is in his eighth season leading the Bulldogs and is just two wins away from reaching 100 wins at Drake. He already ranks second all-time in coaching wins at Drake. 

Following this weekend's season-opening homestand, the Bulldogs travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jan. 29 and 31 for matches against UNI and Marquette.
 
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Players Mentioned

Haley Bush

#9 Haley Bush

OH
6' 2"
Sophomore
Gillian Gergen

#16 Gillian Gergen

MB/OPP
6' 0"
Senior
Kylee Macke

#2 Kylee Macke

DS/L
5' 6"
Senior
Emily Plock

#11 Emily Plock

OPP
6' 2"
Senior
Lindsey Pliapol

#15 Lindsey Pliapol

OH
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Haley Bush

#9 Haley Bush

6' 2"
Sophomore
OH
Gillian Gergen

#16 Gillian Gergen

6' 0"
Senior
MB/OPP
Kylee Macke

#2 Kylee Macke

5' 6"
Senior
DS/L
Emily Plock

#11 Emily Plock

6' 2"
Senior
OPP
Lindsey Pliapol

#15 Lindsey Pliapol

6' 0"
Junior
OH