Volleyball Heads to Iowa For First Time in Program History This Weekend

Belmont (7-17, 3-8 MVC) vs. Drake (18-6, 9-2 MVC) 

Friday, Oct. 28 | 6 p.m. 

ESPN3 | Live Stats | Match Notes 

Knapp Center | Des Moines, Iowa 

Belmont vs. Northern Iowa (18-6, 11-0 MVC) 

Saturday, Oct. 29 | 5 p.m. 

ESPN3 | Live Stats 

McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa 

DES MOINES, Iowa – For the first time in program history, the Belmont University volleyball team will travel to Iowa this weekend for a pair of matches against the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. 

The weekend kicks off with the Bruins facing second-place Drake at the Knapp Center in Des Moines at 6 p.m.  

Saturday, Belmont heads to Cedar Falls for a date with first-place Northern Iowa inside the McLeod center at 5 p.m. 

Both matches will be streamed on ESPN3, and live stats will be available on BelmontBruins.com. In-game updates will be posted to Twitter by @BelmontVB. 

What's Bruin 

• Belmont is coming off a pair of tough losses this past weekend at the Curb Event Center, falling to Illinois State in three sets on Friday night before dropping a four-set match to Bradley on Saturday 

• The Bruins enter their second-to-last road trip of the season trying to break a six-match losing streak 

• This weekend marks the first matches played in the state of Iowa in program history 

• Notably, Belmont hosted the University of Iowa on August 26, 2018, falling in three sets to the Hawkeyes at the Curb Event Center 

• Belmont is tied for tenth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, and will need a strong finish to the regular season to earn one of eight bids to the MVC Tournament, hosted by Evansville in Evansville, Ind., at Meeks Family Fieldhouse from November 20-23 

• The Bruins have seven conference matches remaining, four on the road and three in the Music City 

• Belmont will face two top-100 RPI teams on consecutive days for the second time this season (UIC-Valpo, Oct. 8-9) 

• Junior middle blocker Kristen Clemons leads all middle blockers in the MVC in kills (244) 

• Clemons is 11th in hitting percentage (.316), t-10th in blocks (70) and t-13th in kills (244) 

• Earlier this season, Clemons became the first Bruin since Arianna Person in 2017 to earn conference Player of the Week honors, also picking up a TSWA Player of the Week award as well 

• Junior outside hitter Laura Shoopman appeared in just one set last weekend at home as she worked back from an injury, but still ranks fourth in the Valley in kills (310) and fourth in points (351) 

• Freshman middle blocker Savanah Brandt made her first two career starts last weekend against Illinois State and Bradley, delivering 11 total kills on 22 swings, including eight kills against Bradley, along with two total blocks 

• Junior libero Rachel McBride owns 960 career digs, 40 shy of becoming the eighth active player in the MVC to hit 1,000 career digs 

• McBride's 39 digs against Valparaiso on Oct. 8 is tied for the most by a Valley player this season 

• Junior setter Peyton O'Brien is seventh in the MVC in total assists (401) during conference play 

• Junior outside hitter Ally Peterson and freshman defensive specialist Lilly Lutz both rank inside the top-25 in the conference in service aces, with 21 each this season 

• Junior middle blocker Sydney Willis is seventh in the MVC in total blocks (80) 

About the Bulldogs 

• Heading into Friday, Drake is second in the Valley with a 9-2 conference mark 

• The Bulldogs have won four in a row and eight of their last nine 

• Drake swept Evansville and Indiana State last weekend 

• Drake is ranked No. 84 in RPI 

• The Bulldogs are one of the better defensive teams in the Valley, ranking third in blocks per set (2.21) and third in digs per set (15.86) 

• Junior libero Jada Wills is the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Week after logging 45 digs last weekend 

• Freshman setter Addison Beagle leads the Valley with 1,018 assists and is second on the team with 27 service aces 

About the Panthers 

• Northern Iowa has been untouchable in conference play this season, winning each of their first 11 MVC matches 

• The Panthers are 11-0 to begin their league slate for the ninth time in program history, with all previous eight instances resulting to at least a share of a conference championship 

• Northern Iowa ranks 22nd nationally and first in the MVC in average attendance (1,907) 

• Senior middle blocker Igna Rotto owns the UNI career record for total matches played (146) and total sets played (535) 

• The Panthers are ranked No. 54 in RPI 

• Since defeating Valparaiso on the road in five sets in the conference opener, Northern Iowa has won each of their last ten matches in four sets or less, with three sweeps 

Follow Belmont volleyball on social media - @BelmontVB on Twitter and @belmontvball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.                             

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