Last Week
Bradley closed out a season-long four-match road swing with three road matches last week. The Braves fell in three sets at Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday, before returning to Missouri Valley Conference play during the week. Bradley dropped a four-set match at Missouri State Friday and then lost to 14th-ranked Wichita State in three sets to finish out the week.
This Week
The Braves open the second half of Missouri Valley Conference play Thursday when Bradley plays host to Illinois State. The Redbirds hold a 49-12 lead in the all-time series and have won 11 consecutive meetings dating back to the 2003 season.
Dig For The Cure
Bradley will host a Dig for the Cure event Thursday, Oct. 23 when the Braves host I-74 rival Illinois State at Illinois Central College. Fans are encouraged to pledge money for each dig their favorite player records during the month of October or for each dig Bradley records during the month. Individuals can also pledge a flat dollar amount with all proceeds from the event helping benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The Braves have already raised over $700 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Black Takes Over Fifth On Assist Chart
Senior setter Sam Black moved into fifth place on Bradley's career assist chart Saturday at Wichita State, passing Amelie Rodrigue. Black, who is on pace to become just the fifth player in program history to lead the team in assists in three different season, has 2,547 career assists heading into Thursday's home match against Illinois State. She already has a career-best 72 kills and needs 31 digs to become one of five players in program history with 100 kills, 2,500 assists, 50 aces, 800 digs and 50 blocks in a career.
Career Assist Leaders
# Name Years Ast. MP
1. Michelle Pack 1992-95 4,251 110
2. Sam Hardwick 1998-2001 3,828 112
3. Ashley Vance 2002-05 3,721 117
4. Wendy Carney 1986-89 2,937 137
5. Sam Black 2005- 2,547 103
6. Amelie Rodrigue 1999-2002 2,546 116
Comiskey Cracks Top 20
Junior Kaitlyn Comiskey cracked Bradley's career top 20 for digs with her team-best 13 digs at 14th-ranked Wichita State Saturday and is one of 20 players in program history with 800 career digs. Comiskey enters this week's action 20th all-time with 805 career digs. She needs 35 digs to move up two spots into 18th in school history and is 95 digs from becoming the 15th player in Bradley history with 900 career digs. With 10 matches remaining she is on pace to finish the season with 912 digs which would rank 14th in school history.
Final “Home” Games at Illinois Central College
This week's home matches at Illinois Central College, Thursday against Illinois State and Saturday vs. Indiana State, will be the final two home matches played off campus this season for the Braves. Bradley will return to campus for the final three home matches of the season, playing UNI, Wichita State and Missouri State at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center which opens later this week. The Markin Center will serve as home court for the Braves until a new athletics facility is complete during the 2009-10 school year. The Braves are currently 2-6 at Illinois Central College, having already matched last season's home win total (2-12 at home in 2007).
Making Progress
While the Braves are still looking for their first Missouri Valley Conference victory of the season at the halfway point of the Valley schedule, Bradley continues to remain competitive. BU fell in four sets Friday at Missouri State, marking the first time Bradley won a set against the Bears since the 2005 and the Braves won a set in a match played in Springfield, Mo., for the first time since the 2002 campaign. On the season, Bradley is 25-59 (.298) in sets played after going 21-87 (.194) in sets in 2007. The Braves are 10-27 (.270) in sets in Valley play this year compared with last season's 14-50 (.219) mark in league action.
Rachelle Dejean Climbing The Charts
Freshman Rachelle Dejean needs 11 digs to become just the fifth freshman in school history with 300 digs in a season. Dejean's 289 digs is the sixth-best total by a Bradley freshman and the most since Marika Giguere had 297 digs as a frosh in 2000. Dejean is on pace to become the first Bradley freshman with 400 digs in a season and is looking to become the first freshman to lead the team in digs since Cindy Novak in 1992.
Player Year Digs MP
1. Kathy Vaitkus 1984 383 34
2. Cindy Novak 1992 344 29
3. Lisa LaMontagne 1991 331 31
4. Tricia Hampe 1990 315 36
5. Marika Giguere 2000 297 25
6. Rachelle Dejean 2008 289 22
7. Amelie Rodrige 1999 276 26
Ranked Opponents
Last week's match against 14th-ranked Wichita State was the Braves first of the year against a ranked oponnent. Bradley is e no stranger to ranked teams, having played at least one ranked squad in four consecutive years counting this season. The Shockers were the highest ranked BU foe since the Braves faced then 13th-ranked Northern Iowa on Nov. 8, 2003. Bradley played three teams ranked 13th or better during the 2003 campaign.
The Braves have played a ranked team in 10 of the last 11 seasons (counting 2008) and are 2-18 all-time against ranked squads. Bradley is 0-11 when playing a ranked team on the road.
Horizon League Tour Comes To An End
Last week's match at Illinois-Chicago was Bradley's fourth and final match against a member of the Horizon League. The Braves also played Loyola, Valparaiso and current Horizon League leader Wisconsin-Milwaukee earlier this season. Last season Bradley played five matches against Horizon League members going 0-5 in those matches. The Braves have now lost 11 consecutive matches to Horizon League members dating back to the 2005 season and have not won a road match against a Horizon League foe since 2004.
Black Joins Century Club
Senior Sam Black joined the century club Oct. 11 at Northern Iowa, playing the 100th match of her career. Black is the Braves active career leader in assists and aces while ranking second among current players in career digs. Black has appeared in 103 matches as a Brave, while fellow senior Katrina Goncher is second on the roster with 88 matches played but has only appeared in two matches this season.
Three-Set Losses
After being swept 19 times in 2007, the Braves have suffered eight three-set losses in the first 22 matches of 2008. Halfway through Missouri Valley Conference play, Bradley has been swept by a league opponent just twice after getting swept 10 times in league play last fall. While the Braves are still looking for their first MVC victory, Bradley has pushed three of its nine Valley foes to date to a deciding fifth set.
Schmidt Also Leaving Her Mark
Freshman Rachelle Dejean isn't the only Bradley freshman having an impact this season for the Braves. Freshman middle blocker Megan Schmidt leads the team in blocks (0.94 per set) and attack percentage (.233), while ranking second in aces (15) and third in kills (150). Her 78 blocks is tied for the ninth best total by a Bradley freshman and with 10 matches remaining she is on pace to become just the sixth freshman in program history with 100 blocks as a frosh.
Digging The Night Away
Freshman Rachelle Dejean helped Bradley turn in one of the best defensive efforts of the season at Western Illinois (Sept. 23), tallying 33 digs to help the Braves to a season-best 92 digs on the night against the Westerwinds. Dejean's 33 digs is tied for the fourth-best single-match effort in school history and is one of six 30-dig efforts in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. It's the highest dig total for a Bradley player since Briony Hammet had a school record 38 digs at Evansville on Oct. 22, 2008, and is the 10th 30-dig outing in school history.
Bradley Digs In A Match
Digs Name Opponent Date
38 Briony Hammet at Evansville 10/22/05
35 Julie Penn Valparaiso 9/29/90
34 Gillian Falknor at Evansville 10/22/05
33 Rachelle Dejean at Western Illinois 9/23/08
33 Mary Kay Schmidt Valparaiso 9/29/90
31 Katy Culloton Western Illinois 9/17/88
31 Kathy Bickler Illinois State 11/23/85
Underclassmen Playing Big Roles
Using a roster which features just five upperclassmen, first-year Bradley head coach Sean Burdette knew the underclassmen would be playing important roles during the 2008 season. The younger players have stepped up the challenge and played key roles for BU in the early going. The underclassmen have combined for 53 percent of the Braves kills, 50 percent of the teams digs and almost 54 percent of the squad's blocks this fall. An underclassmen is first or second on the team in nearly every statistical category including kills (Melissa Collins - 2nd with 196), assists (Rachelle Dejean - 2nd with 33), aces (Megan Schmidt - 2nd with 15), digs (Rachelle Dejean - 1st with 289) and blocks (Megan Schmidt - 1st with 78).
Pushed To The Limit
Bradley pushed Drake (Sept. 20) to the limit before falling in the fifth set in the first meeting between the two squads. It marked the third consecutive match between the two conference rivals that went to the deciding set. The Bulldogs have won each of those three matches. Prior to the current streak, the Braves and Bulldogs had not played a five-set match since the 2000 season. It marked the 12th time the two longtime rivals played five sets. The Braves hold a 24-22 edge in the series, but 11 of BU's 22 losses have come in five-setters as Drake is now 11-1 when playing five sets against the Braves.
Braves Need Quick Starts
The first set has been the key to victory in Bradley's matches this season. The Braves are 0-12 when dropping the opening set this season, but boast a 4-6 record when claiming the first set. The Braves were 1-5 when claiming the opening set of a match in 2007.
Cave Named To All-Tournament Team
Freshman Annie Cave was named to the all-tournament team at the Northern Illinois Invitational. She entered the weekend with 19 kills on the season, but averaged 2.33 kills per set in three matches and posted 19 kills in the Braves final two matches of the tournament. Against Loyola Cave had a team-best nine kills and attacked at a .500 clip. She followed it up with a 10-kill performance against tournament-host Northern Illinois in which she hit .450. Cave hit a team-best .383 for the week.
Reichel Earns All-Tourney Honors
Junior Amy Reichel was voted to the all-tournament team at the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational after helping Bradley to a 2-1 record and second-place finish. Reichel averaged 3.58 kills and 0.42 aces per set in the three matches. She matched her then career-high with 16 kills in a four-set loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and tallied a career-best 17 kills to go along with three aces in BU's five-set win against SIU-Edwardsville. She recorded 10 kills in a three-set win against Eastern Michigan as she reached double figures in kills for a career-best fifth consecutive match.
Tough Slate
First-year Bradley head coach Sean Burdette and his young Braves will have their hands full during the 2008 season. Bradley will play 15 of 32 matches against teams which won 20 or more matches last season and have a total of nine matches against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2007. The Braves are currently 3-7 against teams which won 20 or more matches last year. Bradley plays 11 matches against teams that finished ranked in the top 56 of the RPI.
What's Back
The Braves return eight of 12 letterwinners from last year's team, including five of the top seven attackers. Bradley did graduate its top two attackers in Nikki Pierzchala and Jenna Harrison (495 combined kills in 2007) and setter Eileen Hillary (344 assists), but bring back nearly 61 percent of the team's kills, 73 percent of the team's digs, 73 percent of the blocks, 85 percent of the aces and almost 71 percent of the team's aces from 2007.
New Look
Bradley will have a new look when the Braves take the court for the first time in 2008. Not only is there a change in offense, switching to a ?5-1' offensive set compared to the ?6-2' set that has been utilized the last few years, but the biggest change might be on the bench. Sean Burdette is the seventh coach in program history and joins the Braves after a five-year stint as an assistant coach at Ohio State. Four of the previous six head coaches in program history won their first match as head coach of the Braves. Senior setter Sam Black will take over the primary setting duties after splitting time at setter each of her first three seasons.
Braves Picked Ninth In MVC Poll
Bradley was picked to finish ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference, according to a vote of league coaches. The Braves finished ninth in the final 2007 standings. Wichita State is the preseason favorite, receiving four first-place votes. Bradley received 25 points and was just nine points behind Evansville for seventh place.
2008 Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team Total
Wichita State (4) 91
Northern Iowa (2) 84
Creighton (3) 81
Missouri State (1) 73
Illinois State 67
Southern Illinois 52
Evansville 34
Drake 31
Bradley 25
Indiana State 12
Volleyball Blog
Juniors Kaitlyn Comiskey and Lyndi Senkpiel will be blogging on the Bradley Athletics website (www.bradleybraves.com) throughout the 2008 season. The duo started blogging the first week of practice and will continue to do so until the end of the year.
Up Next
The brief two-match homestand concludes Saturday against Indiana State in the final match at Illinois Central College. Bradley leads the all-time series 32-19 after the Sycamores topped the Braves in five sets earlier this season. BU has won six of the last seven matches overall, however and 16 of the last 21 overall.
Rule Changes
There are several rule changes that will take effect for the 2008 season. Instead of playing a best of five “games” in a match, teams will now play a best of five “sets” to constitute a match. The most notable change will be shortening of those sets to 25 points, instead of the 30-point set which has been in place since collegiate volleyball moved to rally scoring in 2001. The number of points required to win the deciding fifth game will remain at 15. The other significant change is the reduction of substitutions in a set from 15 to 12.
