Radisson Hotel Invitational
For the third consecutive year Bradley will be hosting the Radisson Hotel Invitational. The Braves are 5-2 over the last two seasons and have finished second in each of the last two events. No strangers to home tournaments, Bradley has hosted an inseason tournament six of the past seven years and own an impressive 16-3 (.842) record in those matches. In fact, the Braves have played host to tournaments a total of 13 times since 1984 and have a combined record of 33-12 (.733) in those matches. Bradley has gone undefeated in five of 13 previous tournaments and has lost only one match in home tournaments a total of six times. The Braves have not won a tournament at home since the 2003 season.
Series Results
Bradley boasts a 32-26 all-time record against the three other teams at this year's Radisson Hotel Invitational. The Braves hold an 11-9 edge in the series against Saint Louis, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season after claiming the Atlantic-10 Championship. Bradley is 21-17 against Western Illinois all-time and owns an eight-match win streak against the Westerwinds. In fact the Braves have won 11 of the last 12 matches in the series. Bradley has never faced Montana in volleyball.
Home Openers
Bradley has won each of the last two home openers and is 14-11 since the start of the 1982 season in home debuts. The Braves have gone 6-2 in home openers over the last eight years and are 6-3 in home openers under head coach Scott Luster.
Aces Wild
Bradley opened up the season, serving up 20 aces in the first four matches for an average of 1.54 aces per game. Last season the Braves totaled 125 aces (1.20 aces per game). Leading the way for Bradley was sophomore Amy Reichel who had seven aces in the 13 games after serving up just four aces in 78 games as a freshman. Reichel also averaged 3.31 kills per game during the opening weekend and owned a team-best .245 hitting percentage.
Sister Act
For the third consecutive year the Radisson Hotel Invitational will include a matchup between sisters. Senior Jenna Harrison's younger sister Emily is a sophomore outside attacker on the Western Illinois volleyball team. Last season the Harrison's both played in the Radisson Hotel Invitational during Jenna's junior and Emily's freshman seasons. In 2005, former Bradley attacker Kelly Niemeyer had the opportunity to play against her younger sister Katrina who was a member of the volleyball team at Southeast Missouri State during the 2005 event at Robertson Field House.
Braves Picked Eighth In Preseason MVC Poll
Bradley was picked to finish eighth according to a vote of Missouri Valley Conference coaches. Despite the eighth-place prediction, the Braves were just six points behind sixth-place Southern Illinois in the preseason predictions. Defending regular-season champion Northern Iowa is the favorite to repeat, picking up seven of 10 first-place votes and a total of 97 points. Wichita State was second with 85 points and one first-place vote, while Creighton garnered two first-place picks and was third with 81 points. Missouri State was fourth at 71 points, while Illinois State rounded out the top five with 65 points. Southern Illinois checked in at sixth with 39 points, with Evansville (7th - 38 points) and Bradley (8th - 33 points) following. Drake was picked ninth with 28 points and Indiana State received 13 points and was picked to finish 10th.
2007 Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team.......................................................... Total
Northern Iowa (7)............................................... 97
Wichita State (1)................................................. 85
Creighton (2)...................................................... 81
Missouri State.................................................... 71
Illinois State....................................................... 65
Southern Illinois.................................................. 39
Evansville......................................................... 38
Bradley............................................................ 33
Drake............................................................... 28
Indiana State...................................................... 13
Black Cracks Assist Chart; Hillary Nearing 1,000 Assists
Sophomore Sam Black became the 11th player in school history to record 1,000 career assists in the final match of the 2006 season and senior setter Eileen Hillary is closing in on 1,000 assists, needing just 59 assists to reach the mark. Hillary would be the 12th player to reach the mark. Black needs 655 assists to pass Carrie Brigman for ninth in school history.
Bradley's Career Assists Leaders
Player Years Assists MP
1. Michelle Pack 1992-95 4251 110
2. Sam Hardwick 1998-01 3828 112
3. Ashley Vance 2002-05 3721 117
4. Wendy Carney 1986-89 2937 137
5. Amelie Rodrigue 1999-02 2546 116
6. Sharon Zaba 1982-85 2434 123
7. Julie Penn 1987-90 2107 128
8. Trish Jording 1994-97 2081 97
9. Carrie Brigman 1984-85 1714 65
10. Sam Black 2005- 1059 54
11. Ange Martin 1991-94 1023 119
12. Eileen Hillary 2004- 941 80
No One-Two Combo?
Bradley entered the 2007 season without having two players on the roster with 300 or more career kills. Senior Nikki Pierzchala is the Braves active career leader in kills with 564 and she is followed by fellow senior Jenna Harrison, who recorded her 300th career kill during the opening weekend and now has 327 kills. The last time the Braves entered the season without two players on the roster with 300 or more career kills was the 1997 season. Entering the 1997 campaign, Jenny Pavlas had 1,236 career kills, but no other player on the roster had more than 200 kills. Jennifer Dority was second on the squad entering the season with 165 kills.
New Year, New Lineup
Bradley will feature a revamped lineup in 2007 after losing three starters and libero to graduation following the 2006-07 school year. Sophomore Amy Reichel, who was the first freshman since Lindsay Stalzer and Briony Hammet in 2002 to post 100 kills as a freshman, and junior Katrina Goncher will be moving to outside attacking positions from middle blocker. With those two switching positions, look for Bradley to feature possibly two freshmen in the starting lineup. Freshman middle blocker Emily Austin will likely be in the starting lineup for the season opener with possibility of being joined by a fellow classmate. Eileen Hillary and Bethany Dulle were the last true freshmen to start a season opener, playing in the 2004 season opener at Cincinnati.
Luster Nearing 600 Wins
Ninth-year Bradley head coach Scott Luster is closing in on 600 career victories, needing 23 wins to reach the mark. The second winningest coach in program history Luster owns a 131-140 record at BU and has a career mark of 579-391 (.597). Luster has coached in 970 matches as a Division I head coach, including 271 matches at Bradley. He has led the Braves to a 75-87 (.463) 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) 131 140 .483 75 87 .463
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 -- -- --
