The Drake Women’s Volleyball team has been gaining momentum since its win against Arkansas University Little Rock in September. This victory set off a hot streak, propelling the team to seven wins in their last eight games, with four of those wins coming from conference matchups. Starting conference play with a 4-0 record, the team feels like it is only scratching the surface of what it is capable of achieving.
“I just think we needed that one win under our belt, and we built off of that,” said junior Aniyah Davis.
The team used that early win as motivation to rise to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference standings, where they are currently in a four-way tie for first place. With this surge of success, Drake has become a dark horse candidate for the conference championship.
Drake has been a consistent contender in the MVC for several years, as well as gaining recognition on a national scale. Since 2020, the program has had only one losing season. In 2022, the Bulldogs reached the MVC Championship. The year after, they received an invitation to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. They also finished second in the MVC two years in a row.
Despite this season’s fresh roster, the competitive atmosphere within the team remains. Even though their progress might not always be reflected on the stat sheet or in their win-loss record.
The season started rough, with the team going 1-6, a record that’s hard to ignore. However, the early schedule included tough matches against top-tier competition, including several teams from major conferences and a top-10 team, Creighton University. Playing teams in larger conferences like University of Missouri , University of Mississippi and University of Oklahoma are good learning experiences, even with them coming as losses. Such a difficult stretch was expected to be challenging, but it also prepared the Bulldogs for the rest of the season.
Star libero and defensive specialist Jada Wills is a standout, having been named MVC Libero of the Year last season. She is one of the best defensive players in the conference. Halfway through the season,she is ranked first in digs per set for the year.
Wills spoke about how she and her teammates found their rhythm and worked together to overcome their slow start to the season.
“I think it’s about everyone finding their roles and contributing the best way they can,” Wills said.
Playing top-tier non-conference opponents helped the team sharpen their skills, putting the team in a stronger position for conference play, where every game counts toward seeding for the MVC tournament. This challenging early schedule has led to significant improvement overall.
“We know what we need to do. We review the games we win and the games we lose, and we just see what we need to improve,” Davis said.
Drake is scheduled to play Murray State University, another team around the top of the conference at the Knapp center on Friday, Oct.11..
