The Basics
Drake volleyball will look to extend their current four-game winning streak this weekend with two home MVC contests. The Bulldogs will host Belmont on Friday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. and Murray State on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Haley Bush continues to play at an All-MVC level for the Bulldogs with a team-high 331 kills, good enough for third-most in the conference. Bush is also towards the top of the Bulldogs' stat sheet in aces with 16, digs with 189, and blocks with 36.
Freshman
Addison Beagle has also been sensational in her debut season with a team-high and MVC-high 1,018 assists and an average of 11.19 assists per set. Beagle also leads the team with 27 service aces and is second on the club with 207 digs.
Defensively,
Kacie Rewerts continues to rack up rejections with a staggering 106 blocks. Elswhere,
Jada Wills 466 digs top the Drake roster and are good enough for second-most in the league.
If There's a Wills, There's a Way
Jada Wills' incredible effort this season has finally started getting recognition as the junior libero was recently named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week. She logged a total of 45 digs over two matches at Evansville (10/21) and Indiana State (10/22) including 28 digs against the Sycamores.
Wills is now just four digs away from eclipsing the 1,000-career digs mark.
Scouting Belmont
Belmont enters the weekend in 11th place in the MVC standings with an overall record of 7-17 and a conference record of 3-8. The Bruins are currently riding a six-game losing streak, all of which coming in MVC play. Belmont's most recent victory came over conference cellar-dweller Indiana State in a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 1.
Laura Shoopman is the Bruins' offensive leader with 310 kills, followed by Kristen Clemons with 244. The Belmont offense is also lead by setter Peyton O'Brien with 725 assists. A trio of Bruins including Shoopman, Ally Peterson, and Lilly Lutz with 21 service aces. Defensively, Rachel McBride's 344 digs lead the team while Sydney Willis paces the roster with 80 blocks.
Southern California grad Katelyn Harrison is in her fourth season as the Belmont head women's volleyball coach. Harrison has logged a total record of 21-79 in her four seasons.
Friday's match will mark the first-ever meeting between the Drake and Belmont volleyball programs. It will also be Belmont's first-ever match in the state of Iowa.
Scouting Murray State
The Murray State Racers will bring a 9-12 overall record and 5-6 conference record to Des Moines this season. Despite their placement in the middle of the MVC standings, Murray State has won three of their last four matches including their two most recent tilts against Bradley and Illinois State.
Two Racers have recorded over 200 kills led by Federica Nuccio with 260 and Jayla Holcombe with 216. Murray State setter Bailey DeMier leads the team in both assists (778) and service aces (30). Defensively, Dahlia Miller has logged 358 digs, followed by Nuccio's 235, and Darci Metzger leads the Racers with 51 blocks.
Murray State is led by long-time head coach David Schwepker. In his 25th season as a Racer, and 28th year as an NCAA head coach, Schwepker holds a career record of 394-401 and a mark of 381-326 at Murray State.
Drake and Murray State have met on one previous occasion. The Bulldogs took down Murray State in straight sets during a neutral site match in 1996.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will travel to Bradley (11/4) and Illinois State (11/5) next weekend for their final road trip of the 2022 regular season.
