The Basics
Drake volleyball hits the road again this weekend for their third invitational tournament of the 2023 season. The Bulldogs will compete at the South Dakota Classic in Vermillion, S.D. from Thursday, Sep. 7 to Saturday, Sep. 9.
Drake will open the weekend with a bout against the hosts of the tournament, South Dakota, on Thursday, Sep. 7 at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will then take on IUPUI on Friday, Sep. 8 at 4 p.m. and close the weekend with a 10 a.m. match versus South Florida on Saturday, Sep. 9.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Bulldogs enter the South Dakota Classic with a 2-4 record to start the 2023 season. Over their first six matches, Drake has faced off against three ranked opponents, and another that has received votes in what has been their most challenging season in program history. Both of Drake's wins came via 3-0 sweep to bookend the Cougar Challenge (9/1-9/2).
Jada Wills has been the leading force for the Bulldogs, earning the first two MVC Defensive Player of the Year awards to start the 2023 season. Wills leads the league and the team with 142 total digs and an average of 6.17 digs per set.
Offensively,
Taylor Oberpriller and
Macy Daufeldt have been the primary offensive threats for the Bulldogs with 90 kills and 85 kills, respectively. Sophomore setter
Addison Beagle's 244 assists top the Drake roster.
Scouting South Dakota
South Dakota enters the weekend with a 1-5 record after stints at the Cardinal & Gold Challenge in Ames, Iowa and the Tiger Invitational in Columbia, Mo. The Coyotes opened the season with a split in Ames including a loss to Iowa State and a 3-0 win over DePaul. Their stay at the Tiger Invitational included losses to Missouri, Northern Kentucky, and No. 3 Louisville.
The tandem of Kylen Sealock and Madison Harms have logged 47 kills and 43 kills, respectively, to lead the USD roster. Harms also leads the Coyotes with 19 blocks. Setter Avery Van Hook's 128 kills pace the Coyotes in distribution. Defensively, Alaina Wolff leads the team with 56 digs.
Drake trails South Dakota in the all-time series with the Coyotes by a 4-2 margin. South Dakota won the first two matches in the series (2008-09) before the Bulldogs knotted the series (2009-10). The Coyotes have since won the last two installments in the series in 2011 and 2015.
Scouting IUPUI
Drake's Friday match features an improved opponent in IUPUI. The Jaguars have had a solid start to their 2023 campaign with 2-1 records at both the Bradley Invitational (8/25-8/26) and the Hampton Inn Invitational (8/31-9/2).
Maia Long's 80 digs lead the Jaguars' attack. Elsewhere on offense, Grace Purichia leads the team with 186 assists and 14 aces. The IUPUI defense is paced by Addie Evans' 74 digs and Emily Alan's 16 total blocks.
Drake and IUPUI have faced off on two previous occasions with each team winning once. The Jaguars' win came in 2002 while Drake won the most recent match last season.
Scouting South Florida
South Florida brings a 2-3 record to the Midwest this weekend. The Bulls began the year with the Road to Tampa Bay Tournament with back-to-back losses to No. 20 Georgia Tech and in-state rivalry to No. 11 Florida. USF picked up their two wins at another home event, the Bulls Volleyball Invitational, against Idaho State and Mercer.
Maria Clara Andrade leads USF's offensive stats with 71 kills. Caroline Dykes and Kelsey O'Loughlin have both had a major impact with 98 assists and 73 assists, respectively. On the defensive side of the net, Lia Schneider tops the Bulls' roster with 72 digs. Regan Kinard, Amanda DeWitt, and Lauren Lewis have each recorded at least 12 blocks.
Saturday's match will be the first ever meeting between Drake and USF.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will finish their non-conference schedule next week at the Cardinal & Gold Challenge with matches against Ohio, UCSB, and rival Iowa State.
