Lady Demon Volleyball | 9/6/2018 3:11:00 PM

TULSA, Oklahoma – Madeline Drake's ever-present smile was just a bit wider this week, and with what awaits Drake and her Northwestern State volleyball teammates, it was no surprise.
 
The Lady Demons begin a run of back-to-back weekends in Oklahoma in Drake's hometown of Tulsa when they compete in the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational beginning Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Oral Roberts. Next weekend, the Lady Demons travel to Norman for the Oklahoma Nike Invitational.
 
Northwestern State completes its two-match stay in northeast Oklahoma at 11 a.m. Saturday against tournament host Tulsa.
 
"I'm really excited, especially because it's my senior year," Drake said. "I know the potential of this team, and I'm excited to go play in front of a home crowd."
 
The trip to Tulsa marks the second time in three seasons for NSU (4-2) to take part in the tournament. The Lady Demons played in the 2016 event, dropping all three of its matches.
 
Though her friends and family will have little trouble recognizing the 6-foot-1 Drake off the court, there is undoubtedly a difference in the Drake who will take the floor against Oral Roberts (2-4) and Tulsa (4-2).
 
When Northwestern State made its previous trip to Tulsa, Drake was feeling her way in her first extended playing time at the Division I level. Two years later, she returns home fourth on Northwestern State's all-time list in career block assists (198) and with an all-tournament selection at the Redhawks Invitational this past weekend on her resume.
 
"A long way," Drake said of how far she has come in the past two seasons. "Not just in my game, but on the mental side and who I am as a person."
 
Fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe inherited Drake and four other recruits when he took over the program in May 2015.
 
That group of now seniors bought into Kiracofe's vision and a season ago helped NSU collect its most victories and most Southland Conference wins since 2014 – the season Northwestern State won the Southland Conference Tournament and reached the program's first NCAA Tournament.
 
Drake was a key part of NSU's defense in 2017, tallying 101 block assists, the third-highest total in school single-season history.
 
"Immensely," Kiracofe said of Drake's difference in two seasons. "She always had the talent, but she was a little high-error at times. She's really been smart about when to be aggressive and when to take smart swings when she can't (be aggressive)."
 
As a coach who inherited a signing class, Kiracofe had to convince that group to accept a different style of instruction.
 
With Kiracofe's background coaching middle blockers, that onus fell more to Drake than perhaps any of her classmates.
 
"She's really worked on buying into what I do differently than what she was trained to do blocking," Kiracofe said. "She's been very consistent with that and her numbers show it. She ranked high last year on the all-time list last year in total blocks, but there's even more consistency now and that helps our defense."
 
The consistency shows across the board.
 
In Drake's first trip to Tulsa, she posted negative hitting percentages in two of NSU's three matches.
 
During her junior season, she was the Lady Demons most efficient offensive player, leading NSU with a .246 hitting percentage. Drake enters this weekend hitting a team-best .318, committing just 17 errors in 22 sets.
 
The numbers prove Drake's growth as a player, but Drake said she has grown as much as a leader as a player alongside classmates Channing Burleson, Victoria Harris, Reagan Rogers and Kathryn Wristen.
 
"It's been difficult, because there are so many voices, but it's been good to see how it works on the court," said Drake, whose parents will host the team for dinner following Friday's match. "We've been in so many situations before, so it's been cool to see how all of our voices have come together and assumed different roles."