PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley volleyball team will be the first program in school history to visit the state of Montana and the Braves will play 15 of 32 matches against teams that posted 20 or more wins during the 2008 season as first-year BU head coach Sean Burdette announced the fall schedule Monday.

Bradley will open the season with a tournament in Missoula, Mont., where the Braves will open tournament action against West Coast Conference foe Gonzaga. The Bulldogs and Braves will be meeting for the first time since the 2001 season. Bradley will also face tournament host Montana and UC Riverside during the opening weekend of the season. Montana participated in the Radisson Hotel Invitational last season at Robertson Memorial Field House.

A trio of 20-win teams will highlight the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational which will be played at Lorene Ramsey Gym on the campus of Illinois Central College in East Peoria, Ill. Defending Horizon League regular-season champion Wisconsin-Milwaukee posted a 26-3 record last season, while NCAA Division I newcomer SIU-Edwardsville finished 27-7 last season and was ranked 14th in the final NCAA Division II poll. Bradley will also face Mid-American Conference member Eastern Michigan for the first time since the 1986 season during tourney play. The Eagles were 20-14 last year and finished third in the MAC West Division.

The Braves will play 22 matches in the state of Illinois during the 2008 campaign, including four matches at the Northern Illinois Invitational in DeKalb, Ill. Bradley will play Fairfield and Towson during day one in addition to in-state rivals Northern Illinois and Loyola during the second day of play. Fairfield tied for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title and finished the 2007 season with a 21-13 record.

Bradley opens Missouri Valley Conference play with a tough home match against Creighton (Sept. 19) and concludes the brief homestand Sept. 20 against Drake. The Bluejays were one of five 20-win teams in the Valley last season, posting a 21-10 record, while Drake is entering its first season under head coach Phil McDaniel.

A mid-week match at Western Illinois (Sept. 23) closes a stretch of 10 consecutive contests in the state of Illinois. The Braves first conference road swing opens Sept. 26 at Indiana State and ends with a Sunday afternoon contest at I-74 rival Illinois State (Sept. 28). The Sycamores also boast a new head coach in Traci Dahl, while the Redbirds are the first of four NCAA Tournament teams on the slate and also have a new head coach in Melissa Myers.

Bradley opens a three-match homestand Sept. 30 against Valparaiso in the final home non-conference match of the year at Illinois Central College. The Crusaders were 21-12 in their first season as members of the Horizon League. The Braves will host Valley rivals Southern Illinois (Oct. 3) and Evansville (Oct. 4) to end a stretch in which 14 of 15 matches will be played in the "Land of Lincoln".

Arguably the toughest road swing of the season begins Oct. 11 when Bradley visits NCAA Tournament participant Northern Iowa (22-11 last year). A mid-week road tilt at Illinois-Chicago (Oct. 14) falls before the Braves wrap up the first half of conference play with the Missouri State-Wichita State road swing. Missouri State opened the 2007 season with a 23-3 record and finished the year with a 25-8 record after falling to Oregon in the NCAA Tournament. Wichita State (27-6) claimed the regular-season Valley title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to national power Nebraska.

The second half of conference play opens with a home date against I-74 rival Illinois State (Oct. 23). The match against the Redbirds will conclude a five-match stretch that includes four NCAA Tournament participants. Bradley's final game at Illinois Central is slated for Oct. 25 against Indiana State.

The Braves will return to campus for the final three home matches of the season, beginning with a Nov. 8 contest against Northern Iowa at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. Wichita State (Nov. 14) and Missouri State (Nov. 15) will also visit the Markin Family Student Recreation Center, which is scheduled to be completed in October, to conclude the home schedule.

Bradley finishes up the non-conference slate against Big East Conference member DePaul on Nov. 11 in Chicago.

The six-team State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship will be held Nov. 27-29 in Wichita, Kan., and will feature a new three-day format with the top two seeds receiving a bye into the semifinals on Nov. 28.