The Basics
The Drake volleyball team is slated to participate in their third non-conference tournament of the season as they head to Lincoln, Nebraska for the Husker Invitational this weekend. Drake will play two matches during its time in Lincoln as it challenges Grand Canyon on Friday and goes up against No. 22 Utah on Saturday.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake is coming off a recent trip to Southern Florida where it competed in the 305 Challenge. The Bulldogs picked up two wins during their stay in the Sunshine State, improving their record to 3-3, defeating North Texas, 3-0, and Florida International, 3-2. Drake did suffer a loss to Miami (FL) in its opening match of the tournament.
Kacia Brown was recently named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week following her performance at the 305 Challenge. The outside hitter displayed her skills on both sides of the net and racked up a team-high 43 kills over Drake's three matches while hitting at an impressive clip of .354. On the defensive side, she tallied 29 digs, which was the second highest mark for Drake, and added a pair of blocks to her stat line.
Drake Leaders
Kills |
Macy Daufeldt – 91,
Kacia Brown – 82,
Caroline Smith – 40
Assists |
Addison Beagle – 120,
Katie Quick – 98,
Madison Geise – 25
Digs |
Kacia Brown – 67,
Macy Daufeldt – 60,
Addison Beagle – 54
Blocks |
Bliss Beck – 25,
Aniyah Davis – 14,
Caroline Smith – 12
Service Aces |
Kacia Brown – 11,
Macy Daufeldt – 7,
Katie Quick – 5
Scouting Grand Canyon
The Lopes are off to a hot start to begin their 2025 with a record of 5-1. Grand Canyon kicked off its season hosting the GCU Invitational and didn't drop a set picking up wins over Long Island, UT Rio Grande Valley, and Gonzaga. The lone loss on GCU's resume was in their last match where it fell 3-1 to Northern Arizona. The Lopes were picked eighth in the Mountain West preseason poll for its debut season in the league.
Drake has faced Grand Canyon just one time previously, which came back in 2022, and defeated the Lopes, 3-0, in a neutral site match from Wichita, Kansas.
Grand Canyon Leaders
Kills | Anaelena Ramirez – 68, Sophia Parlanti – 57, Bella Nunez – 47
Assists | Taylor Kubacak – 118, Bella Nunez – 83, Bella Anderson – 29
Digs | Bella Anderson – 61, Bella Nunez – 59, Anaelena Ramierz – 50
Blocks | Hayden Goodman – 30, Bella Nunez – 18, Aubrey Goodere – 17
Service Aces | Taylor Kubacak – 9, Hayden Goodman – 7, Bella Nunez – 6
Scouting Utah
Utah comes into the weekend ranked as the No. 22 team in country and boasts a record of 5-1. The Utes already have one ranked win this season over Dayton and their only loss came against No. 10 Texas A&M. Utah returns nine players from its NCAA Tournament team a season ago with three of those returners tabbed as All-Big 12 selections. The Utes will play one match before its contest with Drake as they take on No. 1 Nebraska on Friday night.
The Bulldogs and Utes have also just had one previous matchup in the all-time series. That match came all the way back in 1991 with Utah winning 3-0 in a neutral site contest from Flagstaff, Arizona.
Utah Leaders
Kills | Kamryn Gibadlo – 80, Emrie Moea'i – 61, Neea-Maria Joki – 43
Assists | Leah Wilton-LaBoy – 115, Isabelle Marco – 109
Digs | Dakota Mitchell – 43, Sidney Soria – 27, Alexa Washington – 26
Blocks | Loredana Fouonji – 12, Addison Achilles – 10
Service Aces | Levani Key-Powell – 9, Emrie Moea'i – 7, Leah Wilton-LaBoy – 7
Up Next
Drake's next bunch of matches will be at the South Dakota Classic, Sep. 18-20, from Vermillion, South Dakota. The Bulldogs will go up against Wichita State, Villanova, and South Dakota during the tournament.
