The Basics
The Drake University volleyball team will hit the road again for another weekend tournament. The Bulldogs will participate in the Green Bay Invite in Green Bay, Wis. with two matches on Friday, Sept. 16 and two more on Saturday, Sept. 17.
 
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake enters the weekend with a 7-2 overall record and five wins in their last six matches.
 
The Bulldog offensive attack is led by grad student Mariana Rodrigues with 100 total kills and Haley Bush with 98.
 
Drake hitters would not be nearly as productive without the passing skill of two-time MVC Freshman of the Week Addison Beagle. Beagle ranks first in the conference with 364 total assists and an average of 10.4 per set. She is also tied with Macy Daufeldt atop the Drake roster with eight services aces on the year.
 
Jada Wills leads the back row of the Drake defense with 161 digs followed by Beagle with 81. Drake's front row stars include Kacie Rewerts, Ashlynn Kuhn, and Taylor Oberpriller with 38 blocks, 26 blocks, and 22 blocks, respectively.
 
Cardinal & Gold Recap
Drake's last action came last week at the Cardinal & Gold Challenge hosted by Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The Bulldogs opened the event with a loss to the host Cyclones before getting back in the win column with a five-set triumph over Wright State.
 
Drake finished off the event with a historic win over in-state rival Iowa. The win over the Hawkeyes was their first since 2010.
 
Scouting SIUE
SIUE, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, enters the weekend with a 4-4 record. The Cougars, like Drake, have played in multiple early-season non-conference invitational tournaments. They posted a pair of 1-2 records at the Popcorn Classic hosted by Valpo and the Stetson Invitational hosted by Stetson.
 
SIUE halted a three-game losing skid in their most recent match after a 3-0 sweep over Bethune-Cookman at the Stetson Invitational.
 
The Cougars offense is led by Savannah Christian and Julia Treichel with 96 kills and 90 kills, respectively. Caroline Waite leads SIUE with 205 assists and 14 service aces. Defensively, Nicole Kijowski has recorded a team-high 122 digs while Priscilla Jones paces a collection of Cougars with 21 blocks.
 
SIUE is led by sixth-year head coach Kendall Paulus. She has posted a record of 66-73 while at the helm of the Cougar program.
Drake and SIUE have met on one previous occasion when the Bulldogs defeated the Coguars in five sets. That match occurred on a neutral floor in the 2015 season.
 
Scouting Green Bay
The weekend's hosts from Green Bay bring another .500 record into the weekend. The Phoenix have worked their way to a 5-5 overall record this season. Most recently, Green Bay dropped three-straight sets on the road at 19th-ranked Marquette.
 
Alexandra Zakutney leads the Phoenix with 114 kills to her credit. Calli Gentry has also been a key offensive piece with team-highs in assists (321) and service aces (12). Kayla Lass has recorded 146 digs to pace the Phoenix while Angie Gromos has made 47 blocks.
 
Phoenix head coach Abbey Sutherland is in her fifth season at Green Bay and 13th year as an NCAA head coach. She has led Green Bay to a 65-53 record.
 
The Bulldogs own an 11-4 advantage in the all-time series with Green Bay. The two teams have traded wins in the two most recent matches (2015 and 2021) with both coming on a neutral court.
 
Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota brings a 2-6 overall record to the Green Bay Invitiational. The Fighting Hawks have lost their last three matches, two of which came against Montana State and Fordham at their home UND Classic. North Dakota's two wins came over UT Arlington and fellow MVC team Indiana State.
 
The Fighting Hawks' offense is led by a pair of twosomes. Elizabeth Norris and McCallister Gayle have combined for 111 kills while Peyton Sewell and Norris have recorded a collective 222 digs. On defense Kortney Carney has recorded 103 digs while Gayle leads the club with 20 blocks.
 
North Dakota is led by first-year head coach Jesse Tupac.
 
Both teams will be looking to break a 3-3 stalemate in the all-time series. UND won three straight matches from 2014-15 before the Bulldogs captured the most recent installment in 2021.
 
Scouting Western Illinois
The Leathernecks are currently 4-6 on the season after dropping their first five matches including an 0-3 trip at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational. Western Illinois then rattled off a four-game winning streak starting with a win over Alabama A&M at the Skyhawk Invitational in Martin, Tenn. Most recently, the Leathernecks lost a 3-1 match at New Orleans Invitational to the host Privateers.
 
Elizabeth Ziegler and Brittany Wulf have been productive on the front row of the WIU offense with 104 kills and 102 kills, respectively. Wulf also leads the team with 24 aces while Ziegler leads the team with 23 blocks. Maggie Craker leads the squad with 235 assists followed by Jessie Connell with 126. Two other Leathernecks have recorded triple-digit digs led by Karli Wenzel with 131 and Aubrey Putman with 103.
 
Dale Starr is in his 19th season as an NCAA Division I head coach and first in charge of the Leatherneck program. Prior to joining the Western Illinois staff, Starr put together a 265-274 record at McNeese and Robert Morris.
 
Western Illinois and Drake have shared rich history on the volleyball court. The Bulldogs hold a 21-13 lead in the all-time series with wins in the las four contests. The Leathernecks' last win over Drake came in the 2016 season.
 
Up Next
After competing at the Green Bay Invite, Drake volleyball will begin their conference schedule with the first of four-straight road matches. The Bulldogs will open MVC play at UIC on Friday, Sept. 23 in Chicago.