DES MOINES, IOWA -- The surging Drake volleyball team is set to report for pre-season camp Sunday (Aug. 9) as second-year head coach Phil McDaniel and the Bulldogs begin preparations for the upcoming season.
After an informational meeting Sunday (Aug. 9), the players begin 10 days of two-a-day sessions Monday (Aug. 10), practicing in the morning and afternoon.
The team will appear at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday (Aug. 15) after a morning practice. Drake hosts its Blue/White scrimmage Aug. 22 at 2 p.m. in the Knapp Center before kicking off the regular season versus Butler at the IPFW Invitational on Aug. 28 in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Drake will build on the success of last season and continue its reemergence as a competitive program. The Bulldogs return all six starters along with 13 letter winners to a squad that posted the highest number of wins (12) since the 1998 campaign.
“Our team has had on goal since finishing the 2008 season: to be playing in Omaha over Thanksgiving 2009,” said McDaniel. “We spent the spring working very hard to develop in some key areas of our play, while working to continue to build on the strengths we have discovered as a team. I am excited to get this group on the court and am eager to see how far this group of athletes can take out program.”
Below is a position breakdown of the 2009 Drake Bulldogs:
Attack
Leading the attack will be junior outside hitter Angela Bys and senior outside hitter Emily Madden.
Bys led the team in kills (397), kills per game (3.31) and total attacks (1,117) and was second on the team with 26 service aces and fourth with 239 digs. She again made a mark in the record books, ranking seventh in single-season kills and total attacks.
Madden, the team’s top all-around player, started every match last season and ranked second on the team in total attacks (236), kills (236), kills per game (2.00) and digs (298) and registered 58 blocks, ranking third.
Adding depth to the attack this season will be junior middle hitter Nicole Brown, junior outside hitter Alisa DeBerg Roth, sophomore middle hitter Michelle Reidy and redshirt sophomore Mikayla Sims.
Brown played in 20 matches last season, collecting 89 kills and 47 blocks. DeBerg Roth continued her consistent play, ranking third on the team with 216 kills (1.79 per game) and second with 78 blocks. Reidy is the team’s top returning blocker, collecting 91 block assists and eight block solos last season and Sims collected 184 kills last season.
“Depth is a luxury we have not had in some time,” said McDaniel. “This season we are deep in every position on the court. Our practices will be very competitive, as playing time will be shared at various times throughout the season. The players will be pushing one another and will bring out the best in each other.”
Redshirt sophomore Emily Sibigtroth (right side) and redshirt freshman Emily Heffernen (outside hitter) and Alyssa Becker (middle hitter) will provide back-up at the attack positions this season.
Sibigtroth, a transfer from Anderson University, becomes eligible this season. Heffernen was a the Iowa Class 3A Player of the Year at West Delaware High School and Becker was a first-team all-conference selection as a senior at Jesup High School (Jesup, Iowa).
Three newcomers in freshman middle hitter Stacie Hansen and outside hitters Whitney Westrum and Bentley Mancini will look to make an immediate impact this season. Hansen is the all-time career and single-season kills leader at Lincoln Southwest High School (Lincoln, Neb.), where she was a three-time all-state competitor. Westrum earned Iowa Girls Coaches Association’ special mention Class 4A all-state honors as an outside hitter last season at Waukee High School and Mancini was a two-time all-conference selection at Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley, Minn.
“Our three newcomers bring experience, speed and size to our squad and will make us that much more athletic as a whole,” commented McDaniel. “We are looking forward to having them in the gym to push our veteran players. They all three add depth to our team.”
Setter
Senior setter Chelsea Lauersdorf will look to continue her domination from last season as the team’s top returning setter. Lauersdorf led the team in assists and service aces last season with 1,003 and 32, respectively, and was third with 267 digs. She moved into third place on the career assist charts, totaling 2,150 over three seasons.
Challenging Lauersdorf at the setter position will be junior Susan Clausen and sophomore Caitlin Johnson. Clausen played in 41 games last season, collecting 15 assists and seven service aces while Johnson saw playing time in 48 games and was second on the team with 153 assists last season.
Defense
Junior defensive specialist Alana Wittenburg emerged as the team’s top defensive specialist, recording a school-record 603 digs last season. With 1,026 career digs, she ranks fourth in Bulldog history.
Senior Lindsay Schryver and sophomore Erika Price will add depth to the defensive specialist position. Schryver collected 215 digs in 117 games, averaging 1.84 good for fifth place on the team and Price played in 34 matches last season.
Schedule
The road will not be easy for Drake as the schedule includes four teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Bulldogs’ slate also features 15 home matches in the Drake Knapp Center.
“This schedule will challenge our team,” McDaniel commented. “Our non-conference matches, along with the strength of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule will prepare us for reaching our team goals.”
The Bulldogs will open their campaign competing in tournaments each of the first three weekends of the season, including hosting the five-team Hampton Inn Drake Invitational.
Drake kicks off its year at the IPFW Invitational battling Butler, Kent State, Eastern Illinois and the host Mastodons.
The Bulldogs open their home schedule hosting South Dakota, Valparaiso, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Centenary in the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational.
Drake follows with a trip to Iowa City, Iowa, to face a pair of in-state rivals at the Hawkeye Challenge. The Bulldogs battle Northern Colorado before tangling with both Iowa State and Iowa on Sept. 12.
“The first three tournament weekends will be a solid test for our group,” McDaniel said. “Our tournament at Iowa will be a pre-season final exam for our team as we head into Missouri Valley Conference play.”
The Bulldogs kick off their MVC slate on Sept. 18, entertaining Northern Iowa before concluding their 18-match conference schedule against the same Panthers on Nov. 21.
The ultimate goal for the Bulldogs is to qualify for the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship to be held Nov. 26-28 in Omaha, Neb., for the first time since the 1998 season. Creighton will serve as host for the six-team State Farm MVC Championship
