This Week
After playing just one match last week, Bradley will play three matches this week beginning Wednesday with a non-conference matchup at Southeast Missouri State. The Braves holds a 4-2 lead in the all-time series with the Redhawks and have won each of the last two meetings. Bradley will return to conference play Friday and Saturday playing at Missouri State and Wichita State, respectively. Missouri State holds a 32-7 lead in the all-time series as Bradley is looking to end an 11-match losing skid int he series. The Braves have lost six consecutive matches at Missouri State dating back to a 3-0 victory on Sept. 24, 1999. The three-match road swing concludes Saturday at Wichita State. The two-time defending regular-season MVC champs hold a 21-18 lead in the series and have won six consecutive meetings.
Braves Hit The Road Again
Bradley continues its heavy road schedule this week with three road matches. The Braves have played four of the first 10 matches at home and will play seven of the next 10 away from the friendly confines of Robertson Memorial Field House. Bradley is 12-7 at home (.632) since the start of the 2005 season but is just 7-17 (.292) away from Robertson Field House during that same span.
Sister Act
For the second time this season a Bradley player will be facing a younger sibling across the net Wednesday when the Braves play at Southeast Missouri State. Senior Kelly Niemeyer's younger sister Katrina is a sophomore at SEMO and the two will be facing each other for the second consecutive season. Earlier this year Bradley faced Western Illinois at the Radisson Hotel Invitational. The Westerwinds roster includes Emily Harrison, the younger sister of Bradley junior middle blocker Jenna Harrison.
Wichita, Missouri State Trip Unkind To Braves
Bradley first road swing in Missouri Valley Conference play will arguably be one of the toughest. In addition to facing two of the top contenders for the league title in Wichita State and Missouri State, Bradley has also struggled on the trip through Kansas and Missouri. The Braves have lost both matches on the Wichita State-Missouri State swing in each of the last four years, dating back to splitting the matches in 2001. This season's trip will be the 15th time Bradley has faced the pair on the same swing and own just a 6-22 (.214) record on the WSU-MSU trip. The Braves have won both matches on the swing just once (1999), while Bradley has split the two matches four times.
Braves Looking To End Five-Match Skid
Bradley is looking to end a five-match losing streak Wednesday at Southeast Missouri State. The Braves five-match losing skid is the longest since dropping five consecutive matches in October 2005.
Niemeyer Approaching Career Highs
Despite being just 10 matches into the 2006 season, senior Kelly Niemeyer is closing on career highs in both kills and digs. Niemeyer, who missed one match this season due to illness, has appeared in nine of the matches but needs just five kills to record a career high. Bradley's leader in digs per game at 3.73, she also needs 43 digs to set a career high. Niemeyer already has career-best totals in both aces and blocks.
DeBroux Closing In On 700 Kills
Bradley's active career leader in kills, senior Amber DeBroux recorded her 600th career kill recently and has her sights set on the Braves career top 20. She is currently averaging a career-best 3.78 kills per game and now has 619 career kills. She needs 81 kills to become the 22nd player in school history to reach 700 kills and is 91 kills from moving into 19th place in program history.
Valley Openers
Bradley opened its 24th season of conference playSaturday with a three-game loss to preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Northern Iowa. Bradley is now 15-9 record in conference openers but have lost two of the last three Valley openers. The Braves are 8-3 when opening MVC play at home, including a 2-2 record during ninth-year head coach Scott Luster's tenure. Bradley is 5-4 in Valley openers under Luster. Saturday's matchup was the third time Bradley and Northern Iowa have met to open league play, with the Panthers winning all three contests (1990 and 2004 in Cedar Falls, Iowa and 2006 in Peoria).
Luster's Success In Valley Play
Ninth-year Bradley head coach Scott Luster enters this weekend's conference opener having led the Braves to a 70-75 (.483) mark in Missouri Valley Conference play in his eight-plus seasons, which includes a 66-61 (.520) record over the last seven-plus years. Luster's success in Valley play is a big improvement for Bradley prior to his arrival. With his next conference victory Luster will match the Braves conference win total from the first 15 years of league play. Bradley went 71-118 (.376) in the first 15 seasons of conference affiliation prior to Luster's arrival on The Hilltop.
Braves Take Second At Radisson Invite
Bradley continued its recent trend of success in its own home tournaments, going 2-1 to finish second to Big East Conference member Cincinnati at the 2006 Radisson Hotel Invitational. The Braves are now 31-14 (.689) in regular-season home tournaments and an even more impressive 16-3 (.842) in home tournaments under ninth-year Bradley head coach Scott Luster. The Braves are now 26-7 (.788) in non-conference home matches under Luster.
Ranked Foes
Bradley's match against then 21st-ranked Arizona was the second match this season against a ranked team. The Braves also opened the season against a top 25 team, facing 16th-ranked Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., to begin the season. The Braves haven't faced two ranked opponents in the same season since 2003, when Bradley played four matches against ranked teams (Stanford, Missouri and two against Northern Iowa). Bradley has now lost nine consecutive matches against ranked teams dating back to a four-game victory against then seventh-ranked Northern Iowa on Sept. 28, 2002. Bradley is 0-8 in road games against ranked teams under ninth-year head coach Scott Luster.
All-Tournament Honors
Seniors Kelly Niemeyer and Jennifer Bohan were both named to the all-tournament team at the 2006 Radisson Hotel Invitational this weekend, helping Bradley to a second-place finish. Niemeyer posted two double-doubles and averaged 4.36 kills, 4.82 digs, 0.27 aces and 0.55 digs per game during tournament play. Bohan averaged 4.27 digs per game for the Braves.
Niemeyer Has Career Night
Senior Kelly Niemeyer had a career night in Bradley's home opener, finishing with career bests of 27 kills and 27 digs in the Braves five-game victory against Western Illinois. Her previous career highs had been 17 kills and 18 digs. In addition, she also matched a career-high with three service aces and had a career best five block assists. Niemeyer's 27-kill, 27-dig effort is the first 20-kill, 20-dig performance by a Brave since Lindsay Stalzer's 27 kills, 21 digs against Illinois State last season. Niemeyer is the fifth player to have 20 kills and 20 digs in a match during ninth-year head coach Scott Luster's tenure. Niemeyer is the eighth Bradley player to accomplish the feat since the 1992 season.
On The Road Again
After playing three consecutive matches at home in the 2006 RadissonHotel Invitational, Bradley will be hitting the road, playing six of the next seven matches and 10 of the next 14 contests away from Robertson Memorial Field House. Bradley is 14-14 in non-conference neutral site matches under head coach Scott Luster and 11-17 in non-conference road tilts during Luster's tenure on The Hilltop. The Braves close the season with six of the final 10 matches at home, where Bradley was 10-5 last season and is 64-34 (.653) since the start of the 1999 season.
Three-Match Win Streak Snapped
Bradley had a three-match win streak snapped by Cincinnati in the championship match of the 2006 Radisson Hotel Invitational, suffering a three-game loss to the Bearcats. Bradley's three-match win streak was the longest since winning eight consecutive matches in September last season.
Braves Go 1-2 At Purdue, Niemeyer Named All-Tournament
Senior Kelly Niemeyer recorded a pair of double-doubles to earn all-tournament honors at the Mortar Board Premier and fellow senior Amber DeBroux notched a career-high 23 kills in the Braves victory against Albany, as the duo helped Bradley to a 1-2 record at the Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette, Ind., to open the season. Niemeyer averaged 3.70 kills and 3.60 digs per game in the first three matches, while DeBroux averaged 4.30 kills per game and hit .333.
Bradley Ends August Skid
Bradley ended a seven-match losing streak in the month of August with a 3-1 victory against Albany. The Braves win against the Great Danes was the first in the month of August since defeating Oklahoma 3-0 on August 31, 2002. Bradley lost three matches in August 2003 to NCAA Tournament participants Stanford, Colorado State and Florida A&M. Last season the Braves dropped a pair of five-game matches in August to Eastern Illinois on the road and 2005 NCAA Tournament participant Dayton. This season, Bradley opened the season with a loss to 16th-ranked Purdue and ACC member Clemson.
Not This Year
For the first time since the 2002 season Bradley didn't start out the season with an 0-3 record, defeating Albany 3-1 in the third match of the season to improve to 1-2. The Braves had opened each of the three seasons with three consecutive losses or more. The 3-3 start is the best since Bradley opened the 2002 season with a 3-3 record en route to a 19-12 overall mark and a fourth-place tie in the Valley standings with an 11-7 record. The 2002 season also marked the last time the Braves picked up a win in the month of August.
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 recorded her 500th career kill during the opening weekend of the season and ranks as the Braves active career kills leader with 557.
Braves Picked Seventh 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
Luster Nearing 600 Wins
Ninth-year Bradley head coach Scott Luster is closing in on 600 career victories, needing 26 wins to reach the mark. The second winningest coach in program history Luster owns a 126-121 record at BU and has a career mark of 574-372 (.607). Luster has coached in 945 matches as a Division I head coach, including 246 matches at Bradley. He has led the Braves to a 70-75 (.483) 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) 126 121 .510 70 75 .483
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 -- -- --
