Volleyball Preview: Southern Illinois & Belmont

The Basics 

The Drake volleyball team starts the final stretch of its regular season with just six games remaining on the schedule. The Bulldogs are slated for a pair of games this week taking on Southern Illinois on the road Thursday and Belmont at home on Saturday. Saturday’s contest against Belmont also marks Senior Day for Drake Volleyball. A total of seven seniors will be honored for their efforts and accomplishments while donning the Blue & White.

Bulldogs by the Numbers 

Drake comes into the week on a seven-game winning streak and looks to go undefeated in the month of October with a win over SIU on Thursday night. During its current winning streak, the Bulldogs have dropped just five sets over that span and improved their overall record to 11-10. When looking at the Missouri Valley Conference standings, the Bulldogs find themselves tied for third place. Drake owns a record of 7-3 in league play up to this point in the season. The Bulldogs need three more wins in conference play to achieve double-digit MVC wins for the fourth consecutive season.

 

Drake Leaders 

Kills | Macy Daufeldt – 290, Kacia Brown – 268, Caroline Smith – 152

Assists | Katie Quick – 367, Addison Beagle – 360, Carolyn Maser – 76

Digs | Macy Daufeldt – 260, Gabbie Schroeder – 235, Kacia Brown – 212

Blocks | Bliss Beck – 84, Aniyah Davis – 68, Kacia Brown – 39, Caroline Smith – 39

Service Aces | Kacia Brown – 15, Emaline Handzel – 14, Addison Beagle – 13

 

Scouting Southern Illinois

The Salukis hold a current overall record of 10-14 and have gone 4-6 in league play. SIU has struggled to defend its home court this season, however, with just a 2-5 record from Carbondale. The Salukis are coming off back-to-back losses to UIC and Valparaiso, but previously defeated Bradley and Illinois State.

 

In the all-time series with SIU, the Salukis have the lead, 42-30. However, Drake has won nine straight matches against Southern Illinois. The last loss the Bulldogs suffered against SIU came back in 2019. Drake owns a record of 12-23 in road matches against the Salukis all-time.

Southern Illinois Leaders

Kills | Kelly Franklin – 277, Annabelle Sulish – 253, Cecilia Bulmahn – 193

Assists | Emma Lade – 614, Meghan Anderson – 200, Addison Kerr – 160

Digs | Jillian Shaneyfelt – 373, Cecilia Bulmahn – 275, Annabelle Sulish – 183

Blocks | Larissa Seger – 91, Eva Krakowski – 72, Kelly Franklin – 44

Service Aces | Larissa Seger – 34, Cecilia Bulmahn – 27, Emma Lade – 27

 

Scouting Belmont

The Bruins come to Des Moines carrying an overall record of 14-7 on the year and are an even .500 in league play at 5-5. Last weekend, Belmont split its two matches defeating Evansville and falling to Bradley.

 

Drake and Belmont have a brief history against one another, but the Bulldogs have owned the series winning all four matchups. Drake has yet to drop a set against Belmont, sweeping each of the previous four meetings.

 

Belmont Leaders

Kills | Brooke Gilleland – 268, Brenna Kauffeld – 173, Emily Warmenhoven – 141

Assists | Jordan Czajkowski – 448, Alivia Keegan – 387, Lilly Lutz – 95

Digs | Arianna Rossi – 320, Caitlyn Little – 158, Ella Craggs – 142

Blocks | Khenedi Guest – 86, Hannah Reichensperger – 58, Logan Grevengoed – 41

Service Aces | Brooke Gilleland – 42, Lilly Lutz – 20

 

Up Next 

The Bulldogs will have another split schedule next week as they travel to UNI on Tuesday, Nov. 4 and then welcome UIC to Des Moines for the final home game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 8.