Last Week
The Braves went 1-2 on the week, picking up a four-set victory at Western Illinois before dropping a pair of Missouri Valley Conference road matches at Indiana State (2-3) and at I-74 rival Illinois State (1-3). The victory against Western Illinois ended a five-match losing streak and was Bradley's first non-conference road victory since the 2006 season. The Braves also snapped a seven-match road losing skid which dated back to Oct. 6, 2007.
This Week
For the second consecutive week Bradley will play three matches beginning with a Tuesday home match against Valparaiso. The match against the Crusaders kicks off a three-match homestand which also includes this weekend's matches against Southern Illinois (Friday) and Evansville (Saturday). The Braves and Crusaders will be meeting for the 13th time as Bradley looks to avenge a three-set loss to Valparaiso last season. The two teams will be squaring off in the Peoria, Ill., area for the first time since 1996 and it will mark just the fifth meeting all-time in Central Illinois. Bradley holds a 7-5 lead in the all-time series, but the two teams have split (2-2) four all-time meetings on the Braves home court and Valparaiso has won five of the last seven meetings. Southern Illinois holds a 29-14 lead in the all-time series with Bradley and has won five consecutive matches against the Braves. SIU has downed Bradley in seven of the last eight meetings overall. BU owns a 23-10 lead in the all-time series with Evansville, but the Purple Aces swept the regular-season series last year and have won three of the last four meetings.
Braves Getting More Competitive
Bradley surpassed its win total from the entire 2007 season with Tuesday's victory at Western Illinois. This Tuesday's match against Valparaiso will mark the halfway point of the season for the Braves and BU is certainly much more competitive in 2008. Last season, BU was 21-87 (.194) in sets played compared to this year's squad which is 21-38 (.356) in sets. The Braves were swept a total of 19 times in 2007, but have lost in three sets just four times this year.
Digging The Night Away
Freshman Rachelle Dejean helped Bradley turn in one of the best defensive efforts of the season Tuesday at Western Illinois, 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 two 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. Dejean leads the Braves with 212 digs and a 3.59 digs per set average. She is looking to become the first freshman to lead the team in digs since Cindy Novak in 1992.
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
Braves End Streaks
In addition to snapping a five-match losing streak, Tuesday's win against Western Illinois ended several other streaks for the Braves. It was BU's first road win of the season and ended a seven-match road losing skid which dated back to early October of last year. The win also brought to an end a nine-match losing streak in non-conference road matches. Bradley's last win on the road in non-conference play came in BU's last visit to Macomb, Ill., when the Braves topped Western Illinois in five sets on Nov. 1, 2005.
Schmidt Enjoying Valley Play
Freshman middle blocker Megan Schmidt is making an impact in conference play for the Braves, hitting a team-best .338 against conference opponents. Schmidt opened the season averaging 1.59 kills per set and hitting .209 over the first 10 matches of the season. Since Missouri Valley Conference play has started she is averaging 2.05 kills per set while attacking at .315 clip over Bradley's last five matches. Schmidt has also emerged as the Braves top blocker, averaging 0.92 blocks per set. Her 12 solo blocks is the most by a Bradley freshman since Lindsay Stalzer recorded 14 solo blocks as a frosh in 2002.
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 54% of the Braves kills, 49 percent of the teams digs and nearly 60% 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 154), assists (Rachelle Dejean - 2nd with 26), aces (Megan Schmidt - 2nd with 11), digs (Rachelle Dejean - 1st with 212) and blocks (Megan Schmidt - 1st with 54).
One In, One Out
Bradley received a bit of a boost to open Missouri Valley Conference play when sophomore middle blocker Emily Austin returned to the lineup against Creighton (Sept. 19). Austin suffered an injury in the preseason and had yet to play in a match prior to Friday's matchup with the Bluejays. The team's top blocker as a freshman, Austin is averaging 1.70 kills, 0.50 digs and 0.45 blocks per set since returning to the lineup. While Austin returned to the lineup, freshman Annie Cave has missed each of the last five matches due to an injury. Cave earned all-tournament honors three weeks ago at the Northern Illinois Invitational and was averaging 1.74 kills per set on the year. Bradley has also been without senior Katrina Goncher through the first 15 matches of the 2008 season. Goncher entered the season as the Braves active career leader in kills and blocks.
Braves Wrap Up Illinois Tour
Last Tuesday's match at Western Illinois wrapped up a 10-match stretch in which Bradley did not leave the state of Illinois. The Braves opened the season with a tournament in Missoula, Mont., but returned home to play 10 consecutive matches in the state of Illinois. Friday's match at Indiana State marked the first time the Braves played outside the state of Illinois since Aug. 30. Bradley is currently in middle of four consecutive matches in the state of Illinois.
Pushed To The Limit
Bradley pushed Drake (Sept. 20) to the limit before falling in the fifth set. 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. Saturday's match 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 0-8 when dropping the opening set this season, but boast a 4-3 record when claiming the first set. Bradley's only losses this season when winning the first set have all been road matches (Montana, Indiana State and Illinois State). The Braves were 1-5 when claiming the opening set of a match in 2007.
Conference Openers
Bradley opened its 26th season of conference play against Creighton on Sept. 19. The Braves fell to 15-11 all-time in conference openers and have now lost three consecutive Valley openers. BU is 8-5 when opening league play at home and hasn't won a league opener at home since the 2003 season. Bradley has opened MVC play against Creighton three times (1994, 2005 and 2008) and is now 2-1 against the Bluejays in league openers.
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's Streak Comes To An End
Junior Amy Reichel has a team-best 159 kills on the season and is the Braves leader with a 2.74 kills per set average. After collecting just four kills in Bradley's season-opening loss to Gonzaga, she had reached double figures in kills in seven consecutive matches before posting just four kills against Loyola on Sept. 13. Reichel entered the season with seven career double-digit kill efforts in her first two years on The Hilltop and joined Nikki Pierzchala as the only Bradley players to have seven consecutive matches with 10 or more kills since Lindsay Stalzer closed out the 2005 season with 15 consecutive matches with 10 or more kills. This season she has 11 outings with 10 or more kills.
Black Closing In On 2,500 Assists
Senior setter Sam Black ranks seventh in school history with 2,335 assists and is hoping to lead the team in assists for a third consecutive year. She enters this week's action 99 assists behind Sharon Zaba for sixth place and is 165 assists from becoming the sixth player in program history with 2,500 career assists. Black already has a career-best 52 kills and needs 84 digs to become one of six players in program history with 100 kills, 2,000 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. Amelie Rodrigue 1999-2002 2,546 116
6. Sharon Zaba 1982-85 2,434 123
7. Sam Black 2005- 2,335 96
8. Julie Penn 1987-90 2,107 128
9. Trish Jording 1994-97 2,081 97
10. Carrie Brigman 1984-85 1,714 65
Reichel Earns All-Tourney Honors
Junior Amy Reichel was voted to the all-tournament team at the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational over the weekend 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 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 3-3 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.
Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat
Bradley will be without a true home court during the 2008 season, splitting its home matches between Illinois Central College and the soon-to-be completed Markin Family Student Recreation Center on Bradley's campus. Due to construction of a new Athletics Facility which is currently underway, the Braves will play the first 10 of a scheduled 13 home matches at Lorene Ramsey Gym on Illinois Central College's East Peoria, Ill., campus. The new Athletics facility is not scheduled for completion until the 2009-10 school year, but the Markin Family Student Recreation Center (a multi-purpose recreational facility) will open in October 2008 and serve as site for the final three home matches of the season. The Braves are currently 2-3 at Illinois Central College, having already matched last season's home win total (2-12 at home in 2007).
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
After this weekend's home contests against Southern Illinois and Evansville, Bradley opens a four-match road swing Oct. 11 at Northern Iowa. The Panthers hold a 44-9 lead in the all-time series with the Braves. UNI has won five consecutive meetings between the two schools and claimed victory in 10 of the last 12 contests. Bradley has not won a match at Northern Iowa since the 1984 season.
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.
