Braves Take Second Again
For the third consecutive week, Bradley finished second in a tournament after going 2-1 at last week's CEFCU Classic. The Braves tied Montana State and UTEP for the best tournament record as all three schools went 2-1. UTEP was declared tournament champs because of the Miners' 8-3 record in sets played compared to Bradley's 6-4 mark and Montana State's 7-6 record. The Braves finished second in all three in-season tournaments this year, going a combined 8-3 in those matches.
Western Illinois Series
Bradley will have one more non-conference test, Tuesday against Western Illinois, before opening Missouri Valley Conference play Friday at Creighton. The Braves will also face Drake on the road Saturday night. The Braves hold a 23-17 lead in the all-time series with the Leathernecks after posting a four-set victory in Macomb, Ill., last year. Bradley has won 10 consecutive matches in the series and 13 of the last 14 overall. The Braves are 11-6 at home in the series against WIU.
Braves Pass 2008 Win Total
With the Missouri Valley Conference opener slated for later this week, the Braves have already surpassed last season's win total after picking up win numbers seven and eight over the weekend at the CEFCU Classic. Bradley's (8-4 overall) eight wins on the year are the most since finishing the 2006 season with an 8-22 overall mark. The Braves have reached double figures in wins once in the last five years, when Bradley finished the 2005 campaign with a 16-17 record.
Home Cooking
Part of the reason for the Braves success has been a heavy home schedule. Bradley has played eight home matches and will play five of the next seven at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. The Braves are 5-3 in home matches. Bradley's five home wins are the most since finishing with a 10-5 record at home in 2005.
Non-Conference Success
Bradley owns an 8-4 non-conference record heading into Tuesday's home match against Western Illinois. The eight non-conference victories are the most for the Braves since 2001 (9-3 non-conference record) and with only two non-conference matches remaining on the schedule, Bradley will finish a season with a winning non-conference record for the first time since 2004.
All-Tournament Honors
Senior Amy Reichel and sophomore Megan Schmidt were both selected to the All-Tournament Team at the CEFCU Classic. Reichel averaged 2.40 kills per set, while Schmidt averaged 1.90 kills, 3.90 digs and 0.90 blocks per set as the duo helped Bradley to a second-place finish. Schmidt turned in her first double-double of the year with 12 kills and a career-high 23 digs against Montana State. Reichel also tied for match-high honors with 12 kills against Montana State.
Conference Openers
Bradley will be opening its 27th season of conference play Friday at Creighton. The Braves are 15-11 all-time in conference openers, but has lost three consecutive Valley openers. Bradley is 7-6 all-time when opening conference play on the road. The Braves, who also opened the 2008 conference slate against Creighton, are playing the same team in a league opener in back-to-back years for the first time since opening the 2002 and 2003 Valley schedule against Illinois State. Bradley is 2-1 against the Bluejays in conference openers, with both wins coming in Omaha (1994 & 2005).
Can You Dig It?
Sophomore middle blocker Megan Schmidt notched her first double-double of the season Saturday against Montana State, finishing with 12 kills and 23 digs. In addition to setting a new career, Schmidt's 23 digs are the most by a Bradley player this season. In fact, the 23 digs are the most for any Bradley player not playing libero in a match since Kelly Niemeyer had 24 digs at Southern Illinois on Oct. 28, 2006.
Making An Impact
Freshman setter Skylar Lesan has had a big impact early on, averaging 9.98 assists and a Missouri Valley Conference best 0.60 aces per set. Lesan's 429 assists on the season is the sixth best freshman total in school history and the most by a Bradley freshman since Amelie Rodrigue had 647 assists in 1999. Lesan's 26 aces are the most by a Bradley player since Melissa Collins had 27 aces as a freshman in 2007. Lesan is looking to become the first Bradley player to serve up 30 aces since Lindsay Stalzer in 2005 and she would be the first freshman to reach 30 aces since Ange Martin in 1991.
Braves Finish Second At Radford
For the second time in as many tournaments, Bradley took second at last week's Radford Invitational after going 3-1 in tournament play. The Braves were the only team to play four matches over the weekend, posting wins against South Carolina State, Western Carolina and Coppin State before falling in four sets to tournament-host Radford.
8-4 Start
Bradley's 8-4 start to the year is the best for the Braves since opening 2002 season with a 12-3 record. The 2002 squad went on to post a 19-12 overall record. The Braves have started 10 other seasons with an 8-4 record and have never finished with a losing record when open a slate with an 8-4 mark or better.
Radford All-Tournament Honors
The freshmen duo of Alise Tupuritis and Skylar Lesan were both named to the All-Tournament team at the Radford Invitational after helping Bradley to a 3-1 record and second-place finish. Tupuritis earned all-tournament honors for the second consecutive week, after averaging 2.85 kills and 1.31 digs per set. Lesan turned in her second double-double of the season during the tournament and averaged 1.00 kill, 9.20 assists, 0.80 aces and 1.67 digs per set.
Coming Up Aces
Bradley ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 1.88 aces per set average, after tying for eighth in The Valley with a 0.94 aces per set average in 2008. The Braves have already recorded 81 aces on the season through the first 12 matches and average 6.75 aces per match after averaging 3.44 aces per match last year. Leading the way is freshman Skylar Lesan, whose 26 aces this fall is already more than any Bradley player had last season and the most by a Brave since Melissa Collins had 27 aces in 2007.
More On The Aces
Sophomore Annie Cave, who entered the Radford Invitational with 12 career aces, had a career-high five aces against Coppin State on Sept. 5 and also had a four ace outing against Western Carolina Sept. 4. The five aces against Coppin State is the most by a Bradley player since Bethany Dulle had five aces at IUPUI on Sept. 6, 2004.
Home Tournaments
For the first time in program history, Bradley hosted two in-season tournaments in the same season. The Braves opened the season with the five-team Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational (Aug. 28 & 29) and also hosted the four-team CEFCU Classic (Sept. 11 & 12). Bradley is no stranger to hosting in-season tournaments, having hosted an in-season tournament 18 times in the last 26 years. The Braves have also had quite a bit of success when hosting in-season tournaments, boasting a 42-18 (.700) record in those events. Bradley has gone undefeated in its own tournament six times (1984, 1985, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005), while going winless in its own event just once (1987 - 0-3). The Braves are 7-3 (.700) under head coach Sean Burdette in home tournaments.
Tough Foes
Three of Bradley's four losses this season have come to teams with .500 records or better. In fact the four teams the Braves have suffered losses to have a combined record of 27-14 (.667) through the first three weeks of the season.
Making Strides
Two of Bradley's six victories in 2008 came in five-set matches, but the Braves have yet to be pushed to a fifth and deciding set in 2009. Bradley has already swept three opponents and is 3-2 in three-set matches, after going 1-15 in three-set matches last Fall. The Braves are 5-2 in four setters in 2009, after owning a 3-8 mark in four-set matches in 2008.
Megan Schmidt Named Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Sophomore Megan Schmidt was named the Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept. 1 after helping Bradley to a second-place finish (3-1) at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational and getting named to the all-tournament team. Schmidt averaged 2.23 kills per set while attacking at .435 clip and also averaged 1.23 blocks per set as she helped the Braves to their best four-match start to a season since opening the 2000 season with a 4-0 record. In the season opener, Schmidt had six kills on just eight swings (.625) and also added four block assists in a four-set victory against South Carolina-Upstate after sitting out the first two sets of the match. She collected a match-high 10 kills on her first 10 swings against Chicago State and finished with a .769 attack percentage (10-0-13) to go along with three block assists against the Cougars. Schmidt had five kills, one ace, seven digs and two block assists in a four-set win against Lehigh and wrapped up the weekend with eight kills (.364 attack percentage), and seven blocks against IUPUI.
Braves Take Second At Home Tournament
Bradley finished second in its own tournament, going 3-1 at the season-opening Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational. The Braves, which opened a season at home for the first time since 2000, are off to their best start since beginning the 2000 campaign with a 4-0 record. The 2000 season was also the last time Bradley opened a season at home. The Braves have nine previous starts of 3-1 or better to a season and have never finished a season with a losing record when opening a year with a 3-1 mark.
Opening At Home
After playing four matches in two days to open the season, the Braves closed out a season-opening five-match homestand Tuesday with a three-set loss against Northern Illinois. The five-match homestand is the longest for the Braves since the 2005 season. Bradley was 4-1 during its last five-match homestand , with the lone loss against Northern Illinois in the final match of the Radisson Hotel Invitational at Robertson Memorial Field House.
Hotels at Grand Prairie All-Tournament
Sophomore Megan Schmidt and freshman Alise Tupuritis were both named to the All-Tournament team at the season-opening Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational after helping Bradley to a 3-1 record and second-place finish. Schmidt averaged 2.23 kills and 1.23 blocks per set while hitting an impressive .435. Tupuritis led the Braves in kills in three of the four matches and averaged 3.33 kills, 2.60 digs and 0.47 aces per set while posting a pair of double-doubles.
Freshmen Making Impact
Bradley's good start to the season can be credited, in part, to the play of the freshmen. The Braves had three freshmen in the starting lineup in the season opener and through the first 12 matches a freshmen leads the squad in kills, attacks, assists and aces. Alise Tupuritis is tied for team-high honors with 97 kills (3.13 per set). Skylar Lesan averages 9.98 assists per set and leads the Missouri Valley Conference with a 0.60 aces per set average. Allie Gardner has started seven matches and is averaging 1.86 digs per set, while Jessica McNellis has two starts to her credit and is hitting a team-best .333 while averaging 2.08 kills per set.
Efficient Attack
Another reason for the Braves early season success has been a much improved offensive attack. Bradley, which hit .146 as a team in 2008, boasts a .233 attack percentage after 12 matches this season. The highlight of the opening weekend came against Chicago State, when the Braves owned a .395 attack percentage. The .395 hitting percentage was the best for the Braves since hitting at a .430 clip at Indiana State on Sept. 14, 2002.
On The Internet
Live stats for all Bradley home matches can be found on the Bradley Athletics website (www.bradleybraves.com) under the Live Stats link located near the top of the page. A free audio stream and pay-per-view video streams for most home matches will be available at www.bradleybraves.com.
Home, Sweet Home
After playing 10 of 13 home matches in 2008 at Illinois Central College's Lorene Ramsey Gym, the Braves return to campus for the bulk of the 2009 schedule and will call the Markin Family Student Recreation Center home this season. The Markin Center will serve as Bradley's third home court in as many years, before Bradley moves into a new facility which will be completed this spring on the former site of Robertson Memorial Field House. The Braves played the final three home matches of the 2008 season at the Markin Center and posted a four-set victory against NCAA Tournament participant Missouri State on Senior Night. This season, Bradley will play a program record 19 home matches. The Braves will play 13 of the first 19 matches of the year at home.
Up Next
Bradley hits the road to open Missouri Valley Conference play with matches at Creighton (Friday) and at Drake (Saturday). Creighton holds a 17-13 lead in the all-time series with Bradley and the Bluejays have won seven consecutive matches in the series. The Braves are 6-9 all-time in matches played in Omaha, Neb. Bradley holds a 24-23 lead in the all-time series with Drake, but the Bulldogs have won four consecutive matches in the series. The Braves are 11-12 all-time in road matches in the series with the Bulldogs.
What's Back
The Braves return 10 of 13 letterwinners, including five starters from last year's team. Included in that group is Bradley's top four attackers and five of the team's top six in kills from 2008. The 16-person roster features just three seniors and six upperclassmen. Six newcomers (five freshman and one transfer) will help bolster the roster.
New Setter
Freshman Skylar Lesan has taken over the starting spot at setter, making her the first freshman to start at setter since Amelie Rodrigue (1999-2002). Rodrigue ranks fifth in school history in assists and is eighth all-time in digs. Lesan is averaging 9.70 assists per set and leads the team with 22 service aces. Her 320 assists on the year is already the eighth best total by a Bradley frosh. She enters this weekend's matches needing 52 assists to move up two spots into sixth on the freshman assist chart.
Braves Picked Ninth In Preseason Poll
Bradley was picked to finish ninth in a preseason poll of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, receiving 24 of a possible 100 points. Defending regular-season champion Wichita State picked up nine of 10 first-place votes and is picked to defend its title. Missouri State garnered the one remaining first-place vote and is second in the poll with 87 points. Northern Iowa was third with 83. Drake was selected to finish ahead of Bradley in eighth place at 33 points, while the Braves were ninth with 24 points. Indiana State rounded out the poll in 10th place with 19 points.
2009 MVC Volleyball Preseason Poll
Rk School (First-Place Votes) Points
1. Wichita State (9) 99
2. Missouri State (1) 87
3. Northern Iowa 83
4. Creighton 67
5. Southern Illinois 49
6. Evansville 47
7. Illinois State 42
8. Drake 33
9. Bradley 24
10. Indiana State 19
Active Leaders
Senior Amy Reichel is the Braves active career leader in kills with 689 in her career. Reichel, who is 24th in career kills at Bradley, also ranks as Bradley's active career leader with 153 career blocks and 54 service aces. Fellow senior Kaitlyn Comiskey is BU's active career leader in digs with 864 during her Bradley career. Comiskey ranks 17th all-time with her 864 career digs and is 36 digs from becoming the 15th player in program history with 900 career digs.
