The Basics
It is playoff time for Drake volleyball and the Bulldogs will look to finish their championship goal. After an excellent regular season, Drake was seeded second in the MVC Tournament. The Bulldogs will advance to the semifinals where they will take on either No. 3 seed UIC or No. 7 seed Missouri State.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake finished with a 21-9 overall record and 14-4 mark in league play. Most recently, the Bulldogs went 1-2 on a road trip, after opening with a 3-1 win against Valparaiso and back-to-back losses against UIC (1-3) and UNI (1-3) to close the regular season schedule.
Taylor Oberpriller, one of three First Team All-MVC players for Drake, was a star for a high-powered Drake offense this season with 424 kills, good for fourth-most in the MVC. Senior
Haley Bush, another First Team player, recently eclipsed the all-time mark for kills in a career at Drake, and she finished with 368 on the season. Setter
Addison Beagle leads the Bulldogs in assists with 958, which was fifth-most in the Valley per set.
Defensively,
Jada Wills, the MVC Libero of the Year and Drake's third All-MVC First Team selection, shined in the back row with a conference-leading 641 digs.
Kacie Rewerts was a force at the net, racking up 162 total blocks, the second most in The Valley in total and it's good for the most per set at 1.49.
Scouting UIC
The Flames finished with a mark of 20-11 and 11-7 in Valley play. In their final three games, they went 2-1cwith a two-game win streak to end the season, including a victory over Drake. They lost to UNI 3-0 before defeating the Bulldogs 3-1 and sweeping Valparaiso 3-0.
Martina Delucchi led the Flames' offense this year, finishing with 370 kills. Delucchi is also tied for the team lead in service aces with 31. Francesca Venturini was the UIC leader in assists, as she finished with a final tally of 727. Sohila Wafeek was second, with 526 assists. Defensively, Jaclyn Oblena led UIC with 359 digs.
The Bulldogs trail UIC in their all-time series, 5-4. Drake had been on a three-match winning streak, but the Flames defeated the Bulldogs twice this season. UIC's victories came Sep. 29 at the Knapp Center and Nov. 11 at UIC.
Scouting Missouri State
The Bears finished the season with an even 15-15 record overall and 9-9 in the MVC. They finished the season 2-1, with sweeps over Bradley and Illinois State before they were swept by Southern Illinois.
Maddy Bushnell was the offensive centerpiece as she led the Bears with 324 kills this season. Deja Bickers, Azyah Green, and Breanah Rives contributed with 200+ kills each. Morgan Sprague's 762 assists led the Bears by a wide margin. Defensively, Teagan Polcovich was the star with 566 kills.
Drake trails against Missouri State all-time, 54-13. Drake is currently on a four-game winning streak and defeated Missouri State 3-0 when the Bears came to the Knapp Center on Oct. 14.
Up Next
With a win, the Bulldogs would advance to the MVC Championship on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 4 PM.
