The Basics
The Drake volleyball team returns to action this weekend with a pair of road contests. The Bulldogs will open the 2022 conference season at UIC on Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. and then finish the trip at Valparaiso on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Drake attack is led by two triple-digit hitters.
Mariana Rodrigues and
Haley Bush lead the team with 156 kills and 138 kills, respectively. Both hitters are currently in the top six of the MVC in kills per set.
Freshman
Addison Beagle has been stellar for Drake with 510 assists, the most in the league, and a team-high 10 service aces.
Beagle also has produced defensively with 107 digs, second-most behind
Jada Wills' 229.
Kacie Rewerts and
Ashlynn Kuhn have been stalwarts on the front line with 86 combined blocks.
Green Bay Invite Recap
The Bulldogs' last action came a week ago at the Green Bay Invite in Green Bay, Wis. Drake bookended their weekend with wins over SIUE and Western Illinois. Their 2-2 record earned them a runner-up finish behind the host Phoenix.
Both
Jada Wills and
Ashlynn Kuhn were named to the All-Tournament team.
Scouting UIC
Missouri Valley Conference newcomer UIC is experiencing similar success this season. The Flames currently own an 8-4 overall record through 2022 non-conference play. Most recently, UIC went 1-2 with a weekend-opening upset victory over Miami (FL) at the Central Florida Tournament.
Martina Delucchi, Paola Santiago, and Mikala Henderson have each recorded over 100 kills through the Flames' first 12 games. Delucchi also leads the team with 16 aces. Sohila Wafeek has recorded 426 assists to pace UIC in that category. Defensively, Jaclyn Oblena leads UIC with 152 digs, followed by Santiago and Delucchi. Zahria Woodard is tops on the Flames' roster with 52 blocks.
UIC is led by head coach Justin Ingram. Coach Ingram has been at the helm of Flames' volleyball for six seasons and has coaching at the Division I level since 2009. Ingram's record at UIC is 97-56.
The Flames own a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with Drake. The two teams have only played each other once since 1989, when UIC defeated Drake 3-1 on a neutral court in 2013. The Bulldogs' lone win over UIC came in the 1989 season in Chicago.
Scouting Valparaiso
Valparaiso has had a remarkable start to the 2022 season. The Beacons are 12-0 with three tournament championships in non-conference play. Valpo will open their conference slate at home against UNI on Friday, Sept. 23 before hosting the Bulldogs the following evening.
The Beacons boast a balanced offensive attack led by Kara Cooper with 101 kills. Setters Addy Kois and Victoria Bulmahn have each made over 200 assists. Elsewhere, Emma Hickey has produced 13 service aces. Defensively, Hickey has logged 243 digs while Mallory Januski, the defending MVC Player of the Week, has a team-high 30 blocks.
Valpo is led by 21st-year head coach Carin Avery. Avery has coached the Beacons to a 461-217 record in her two decades at the institution.
Valparaiso leads the all-time series with Drake by a 12-4 margin. The Beacons have won the last five matches with Drake's most recent victory coming in 2019.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will finish their conference-opening road swing on Friday, Sept. 30 at Southern Illinois and Saturday, Oct. 1 at Missouri State.
