Season Openers
Bradley is looking to end a five-game losing streak in season openers when the Braves take to the court to open the 2006 season Friday morning at 16th-ranked Purdue. After winning the season opener in each of the first three seasons under head coach Scott Luster, Bradley has lost five consecutive openers to fall to 3-5 under Luster. The Braves are 17-14 all-time to open a season and 12-12 when opening the season on the road. Bradley is opening a season against a ranked opponent for just the second time. The Braves only other season opener against a ranked foe resulted in a five-game loss to then 12th-ranked Pacific in Pullman, Wash., to open the 2001 season.
Series History
Friday's season opener against 16th-ranked Purdue will be just the second meeting between Bradley and the Boilermakers. Purdue posted a four-game victory against the Braves last season at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif., en route to a 25-9 overall record last year. Bradley and Clemson will be meeting for the sixth time. The Tigers have won four consecutive meetings and hold a 4-1 edge in the series. The two teams have not met since 1993 and Clemson holds a 2-1 advantage in the series at neutral sites. Saturday's match against Albany will be the first meeting between the Braves and the Great Danes.
August Not Kind
Bradley will be opening a season during the month of August for the 11th time in the 31-year history of the program. The month of August has not been kind to the Braves, as Bradley is just 5-20 (.200) during the month, including a 1-9 record (.100) under head coach Scott Luster. Bradley has lost five consecutive matches in August dating back to a 3-0 sweep of Oklahoma on August 31, 2002 in Los Angeles, Calif. The Braves have played then 12th-ranked Pacific, Washington State, Loyola-Marymount, Duke, Oklahoma, Florida A&M, then fourth-ranked Stanford, Colorado State, Dayton and Eastern Illinois during the month of August under Luster. This year's season opener (August 25) is the earliest for the Braves.
Braves Picked Seven In MVC Poll
Bradley was picked to finish seventh in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference coaches poll, receiving 40 points. The Braves finished the 2005 season with a 16-17 overall record and were sixth in the regular-season Valley standings with a 9-9 mark. Northern Iowa was selected as the preseason favorite, garnering eight of 10 first-place votes.
2006 Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team......................................................... Total
Northern Iowa (8).............................................. 96
Missouri State (1).............................................. 87
Wichita State (1)................................................ 77
Creighton......................................................... 71
Illinois State...................................................... 66
Southern Illinois................................................. 50
Bradley........................................................... 40
Evansville........................................................ 28
Drake.............................................................. 22
Indiana State..................................................... 13
New Look
Bradley will certainly have a new look in 2006, having lost the 2005 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Lindsay Stalzer, three-year starting setter Ashley Vance, four-year starter at outside attacker Briony Hammet and two-year starter at libero Gillian Falknor to graduation. All told, the Braves return nine of 14 letterwinners, including four starters from last year's squad. Bradley opens a season without a single player on the roster boasting 500 career kills or more for the first time since 2000. Senior Amber DeBroux ranks as the Braves active career kills leader with 483.
Ranked Foes
Bradley opens the season against 16th-ranked Purdue, looking to end a four-game losing streak to ranked opponents. The Braves haven't played a ranked team since losing to 23rd-ranked Missouri on Sept. 13, 2003 in Milwaukee, Wis., and haven't played at a ranked foe's home court since playing at 10th-ranked Northern Iowa on Oct. 25, 2002. Bradley's last victory against a team in the top 25, was a 3-1 win over seventh-ranked Northern Iowa on Sept. 28, 2002.
Luster Nearing 600 Wins
Tenth-year Bradley head coach Scott Luster is closing in on 600 career victories, needing 29 wins to reach the mark. The second winningest coach in program history Luster owns a 123-114 record at BU and has a career mark of 571-365 (.610). He has led the Braves to a 70-74 (.486) record in Missouri Valley Conference play. Bradley was just 71-118 (.376) in conference action prior to Luster's arrival on The Hilltop.
Bradley Career Coaching Victories
Overall Record Conference Record
Head Coach (Years) W L Pct. W L Pct.
Pam Stanek (1982-94) 212 249 .460 49 84 .368
Scott Luster (1998-present) 123 114 .519 70 74 .486
Anelle Griffin (1975-80) 115 86 .572 -- --- --
Kalani Mahi (1995-97) 38 53 .418 22 34 .393
Darlene Kluka (1981) 11 27 .289 -- -- --
Marty King (1974) 5 10 .333 -- -- --
