The Basics
Drake volleyball returns to action this week and heads back to Omaha for a pair of matches. The Bulldogs will face off against Omaha (Sept. 5), and Oklahoma (Sept. 6) at the MH Hospitality Omaha Challenge.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Bulldogs began their 2024 campaign last weekend at the Bluejay Invitational and ended up going 0-3 in matches against Missouri, North Carolina State, and Creighton. Head coach
Darrin McBroom's group was tabbed third in the MVC Preseason Poll behind UIC and league favorite UNI. Reigning conference Libero of the Year
Jada Wills comes back to lead the Drake defense while other key returners include outside hitters
Zeynep Gur and Macy Daufelt, middle blocker
Ashlynn Kuhn, and 2022 MVC Freshman of the Year
Addison Beagle.
2024 Drake Leaders
Kills |
Macy Daufeldt – 42,
Megan Witte – 24
Assists |
Addison Beagle – 90,
Jada Wills – 8
Digs |
Jada Wills – 57,
Addison Beagle – 26,
Ashlynn Kuhn – 25
Blocks |
Aniyah Davis – 7,
Ashlynn Kuhn – 4,
Macy Daufeldt – 4,
Bliss Beck – 4
Service Aces |
Ashlynn Kuhn – 5,
Jada Wills – 3,
Megan Witte – 2
Scouting Omaha
The Mavericks season also began last weekend as they hosted the Omaha Invite, where they went 0-3 dropping matches to Houston (RV), Wyoming, and Washington State (RV). Omaha finished last season with an overall record of 15-14 and went 12-4 against Summit League opponents. They earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Summit League Championship but ultimately lost to Kansas in the opening round.
Omaha was tabbed to finish the regular season in the top slot in the 2024 Summit League preseason coaches' poll and had a pair of players named as Players to Watch in graduate middle blocker McKenna Ruch and junior outside hitter Kali Jurgensmeier.
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with Omaha 6-4 with the first match taking place in 1986. However, Omaha has won the last two meetings which took place in 2019 and 2021. Drake's last win over the Mavericks came in 2017.
2024 Omaha Leaders
Kills | McKenna Ruch – 37, Kali Jurgensmeier – 35, Morgan Amanda Hardt – 25, Shayla McCormick – 25
Assists | Ivey Leuck – 70, Julia Owens – 55
Digs | Erica Fava – 55, Kennedy Schaecher – 27, Shayla McCormick – 26
Blocks | McKenna Ruch – 10, Celia Spiker – 9, Shayla McCormick – 6
Service Aces | Julia Owens – 8, Shayla McCormick – 6, Kennedy Schaecher – 5, McKenna Ruch – 5
Scouting Oklahoma
Friday will mark just the second-ever meeting between Drake and Oklahoma as the Bulldogs and Sooners only previous contest came in 2003 with Oklahoma claiming victory. In its final season in the Big 12 Conference, the Sooners finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 11-17 and 4-14 in conference play. In their first season in the Southeastern Conference the Sooners were picked 11th in the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Oklahoma comes into this week splitting its first two matches of the 2024 season. The Sooners opened the year at the Ameritas Players Challenge dropping their match against TCU, but topped Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
2024 Oklahoma Leaders
Kills | Alexis Shelton – 25, Kari Geissberger – 17, Lydia Martyn – 17
Assists | Payton Chamberlain – 82, Leah Wilton-LaBoy – 16
Digs | Callie Kemohah – 30, Payton Chamberlain – 17, Jasmine Ellison – 14
Blocks | Lydia Martyn – 14, Payton Chamberlain – 5
Service Aces | Jasmine Ellison – 6, Whitney Wallace – 3, Alexis Shelton - 2
Up Next
Drake will continue road play as it heads to Oxford, Mississippi for the Ole Miss Invitational. The Bulldogs will take on Florida Gulf Coast and Ole Miss on September 13 before taking on Little Rock on September 14.
