Last Week
Bradley opened a season-long four-match road swing Friday with a three-set loss at preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite and 14th-ranked Northern Iowa. The Braves also dropped the final non-conference road match of the season Sunday at SIU Edwardsville, losing to the Cougars 26-28, 23-25, 26-28. Junior Annie Cave recorded a career-best 16 kills against SIUE, while senior Caitlin Staib added a career-high 13 kills against the Cougars.
This Week
Bradley concludes a season-long, four-match road swing and also wraps up the first-half of Missouri Valley Conference play with a pair of matches beginning Saturday at Indiana State. The Braves wrap up the week Sunday with a match at I-74 rival Illinois State. The Braves hold a 33-21 lead in the all-time series with the Sycamores, but Indiana State won both meetings last year and has claimed three of the last four overall. The Sycamores are 14-10 in home matches in the series. Illinois State owns a 52-12 advantage in the all-time series with Bradley and the Redbirds have won 14 consecutive matches in the series dating back to the 2003 season. Since the two squads started conference play in 1983, Illinois State owns a 22-2 home record in the series.
Stepping Up
Junior Annie Cave tallied a career-high 16 kills Sunday at SIU Edwardsville to pace the Braves and has played an increased role over the last three matches. Prior to the Oct. 2 match against Evansville, Cave had been averaging 1.29 kills per set while hitting .160. Over the last three matches, she is averaging 3.63 kills per set and boasts a .292 attack percentage. Cave jumped up five spots on Bradley's career kills list into 48th (324 kills).
Pushed To The Limit
All three sets of Bradley's match at SIU Edwardsville Sunday were decided by two points, including two won by the Cougars by the score of 28-26. BU and SIUE have played tightly contested matches in all three meetings between the two programs, with the first two meetings going to a deciding fifth set. Each of the last seven sets in the series have been decided by just two points and nine of 13 sets over the last three years between the two have been decided by the minimum two points. The last time Bradley had every set in a match decided by two points was Oct. 23, 2009 at Southern Illinois and the last time two sets in the same match were extended beyond 25 points was Oct. 29, 2009 against Lehigh.
Ranked Opponents
Friday's match at Northern Iowa was Bradley's first contest against a ranked team since the Braves faced then 11th-ranked Wichita State on Nov. 14, 2008. Since the start of the 1998 season, BU has played 22 matches against ranked teams and owns a 2-20 record in those matches. Both of Bradley's victories against ranked squads have come against Northern Iowa, but both wins have been at home. The Braves topped then 16th-ranked UNI in five sets on Oct. 19, 2001 for the program's first win against a ranked team and upset then 7th-ranked Northern Iowa the following season (Sept. 28, 2002) in four sets at Robertson Memorial Field House.
Schmidt Slides Into 30th On Kills List
Junior Megan Schmidt took over 30th place on Bradley's career kills list over the weekend and is looking to become the 27th player in program history to reach 600 career kills. Schmidt is 30th in school history with 558 career kills and needs 22 kills to move up two spots into 28th place. Senior Melissa Collins is Bradley's active career leader in kills with 614 and needs 15 kills to move into BU's career top 25.
Staying Close To Home
Starting with Sunday's match at I-74 rival Illinois State, Bradley will play eight of the next nine matches in the state of Illinois. The Braves have played 13 of 19 matches this season in the Land of Lincoln, including nine of the last 12 overall. Bradley is scheduled to play 21 of 31 matches this season in the Prairie State.
Rising To The Occasion
Over the last seven matches senior Caitlin Staib has emerged as one of Bradley's top offensive threats, averaging 2.62 kills and hitting .293 during that stretch. Staib, who played in just 24 sets in the first 12 matches, averaged 1.96 kill and had a .179 attack percentage during the first 12 matches of the year. She tallied a career-best 13 kills Sunday at SIU Edwardsville and has led the Braves in kills five times this season.
Climbing The Charts
Junior Rachelle Dejean shot up three spots on Bradley's career digs list recently, moving into 14th place. BU's active career leader, she is the first Brave to reach the 900 career digs since Briony Hammet reached the mark during the 2005 season. Dejean has 940 career digs and needs 40 to pass Hammet for 13th on the career chart. She is 60 digs from becoming the 13th player in program history to record 1,000 career digs.
Tough Stretch
Last Friday's match at Northern Iowa wrapped up what is arguably the toughest nine-match stretch of the season for the Braves. Bradley's nine opponents starting with the Sept. 11 contest against Valparaiso and finishing up with 14th-ranked UNI have combined for an impressive 123-44 (.737) record through Oct. 11. In fact, BU's last three opponents own a 44-10 (.815) combined mark.
Reaching The Century Mark
Bradley senior Caitlin Staib played in the 100th match of her career Friday at Northern and fellow senior Melissa Collins is closing in on the century mark for matches played, having appeared in 97 contests during her time on The Hilltop. Staib has appeared in more matches than Collins, it is Collins who ranks as BU's active career leader in kills with 614. In addition, Collins has played in more sets than Staib (300 compared to 280).
Keeping It In State
Sunday's match at SIU Edwardsville was the fourth of five non-conference contests on the schedule against in-state opponents and the Braves have played five of nine matches against teams from the Land of Lincoln counting four Missouri Valley Conference matches against league members Southern Illinois and Illinois State. The Braves are 1-3 against in-state non-conference opponents and 1-4 overall against in-state foes. Bradley finished the 2009 season 2-2 against in-state non-conference foes and posted at least a .500 record against in-state non-conference opponents for the first time since going 3-3 in 2005. The Braves are 36-25 (.590) against in-state non-conference foes since the start of the 1995 campaign.
All-Tournament Honors
Junior Megan Schmidt was named to the all-tournament team at the CEFCU Classic after averaging 2.54 kills and 0.92 blocks per set. Schmidt tallied a career-best 16 kills to go along with seven digs and three blocks against Hofstra. She followed that with a season-best five blocks against Presbyterian and tied for team-high honors with 12 kills against Valparaiso.
Build It And They Will Come
Bradley's new $50-million facility is a hit with fans, as the Braves have drawn four of the top 20 crowds in program history through the first nine home dates in the building. In addition to drawing the largest crowd in school history for the arena opener against Western Illinois (1,752), BU has brought in the 8th-largest (754 fans vs. SEMO), 15th-largest (608 fans vs. Valparaiso) and 19th-largest (563 fans vs. Hofstra) in program history already this season. Bradley is averaging 590 fans per home match this season. The season record for average attendance is 457 set during the 1999 season.
Big Comeback Win
Bradley dropped the first two sets of it's match against Fordham on Sept. 4, before rallying to take the final three sets against the Rams. The Braves had not rallied from a two-sets-to-none deficit since rallying to top UMBC at home on Sept. 6, 2003. It marked the first time Bradley came back to win after dropping the first two sets in a road or neutral site match since rallying to beat Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind., on Sept. 10, 1999.
What's Your 20?
Freshman Amy Angelos' 20 kills against Fordham earlier this season is the second-most by a freshman in the Missouri Valley Conference this season and highest output by a Bradley player this year. Angelos, who ranks third on the team with a 2.21 kills per set average, is the first BU frosh to record 20 or more kills in a match since Marika Giguere accomplished the feat twice during the 2000 season. Giguere recorded 28 kills in a home match against Missouri State on Oct. 20, 2000.
Maryland Invite All-Tournament Honors
Freshman Amy Angelos and sophomore Allie Gardner were both named to the all-tournament team at the Maryland Invitational. Gardner earned all-tournament honors for the second consecutive week, while Angelos earned the distinction for the first time in her career. Angelos averaged 2.92 kills and 0.92 blocks per set, while attacking at a .295 clip during tournament play. Gardner averaged 3.25 digs per set as the duo helped Bradley to a second-place finish.
Up Next
Bradley opens a three-match homestand Friday, Oct. 22 against Creighton and plays host to Drake on Saturday, Oct 23. The Bluejays hold a 20-13 lead in the all-time series and have won 10 consecutive matches in the series, including a four-set victory earlier this year in Omaha. Bradley has lost seven consecutive home matches in the series. Drake has won seven consecutive matches in the series with BU to take a 26-24 lead in the all-time series. The Bulldogs own a slim 12-11 lead in matches played in Peoria.
Welcome Home
Bradley opened its new home court with a sweep of Western Illinois on Aug. 27 in the season opener. The new 4,200-seat, $50-million facility sits on the former site of historic Robertson Memorial Field House and will serve as the permanent home for the Bradley volleyball and women's basketball teams. Following the demolition of the Field House after the 2007 season, the Braves played 10 of 13 home matches in 2008 at Illinois Central College's Lorene Ramsey Gym and called the Markin Family Student Recreation Center home for the 2009 campaign.
Gardner Named MVC Defensive Player of the Week
Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Allie Gardner was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 30. In her first action as the Braves' libero, she earned a spot on the all-tournament team after averaging a Valley best 5.83 digs per set in the opening weekend of play. Gardner had a then career-best 18 digs against Western Illinois in the opener and followed it with a career-high 29 digs in Saturday's five-set win against USC Upstate. The only player in the MVC to have two outings with more than 20 digs during the first week of play, she capped the week with a 23-dig effort against Southeast Missouri State. Gardner is the first BU player to garner Valley Defensive Player of the Week honors since the award was first issued in 2007 and is the first Brave to earn any MVC weekly honor since Lindsay Stalzer captured Valley Player of the Week honors three times during the 2005 season.
New Faces
Bradley had three newcomers in the starting lineup in the season opener and a total of five newcomers have started at least one match through the first 19 contests of the year. In addition, newcomers have accounted for 55 of the team's 114 starts to date. Freshmen Lauren Zerante and Amy Angelos are tied with junior Megan Schmidt for the most starts on the squad with 17. Zerante ranks fourth on the team with 108 kills and is third on the squad in both aces and digs. Angelos leads the team in kills an is tied for the team lead in blocking. The Braves have also used two newcomers at setter through the first 19 matches. Marquette transfer Shelly Mueller has started 15 matches at setter and is averaging 8.03 assists and 1.22 digs per set, while junior college transfer Jennifer Sykes is averaging 7.08 assists and 1.80 digs per set.
Can You Dig It
Junior Rachelle Dejean has led the team in digs each of the last two seasons and has a chance to become the first player since Sam Hardwick to lead the squad in digs in three consecutive years. Already owning two of the top 10 single-match dig totals in BU history, Dejean's 413 digs as a freshman ranks as the 10th best season total in program history and she became the 15th player in program history to reach 900 career digs. She currently ranks second on the team with a 181 digs this season, trailing sophomore Allie Gardner by 32 digs.
Back-To-Back-To-Back?
Junior Megan Schmidt has led the team in blocks each of her first two seasons on The Hilltop and is looking to become the first player to lead the team in blocks in three consecutive years since Jenna Passman (2001, 2002 & 2003). Schmidt has a chance to join Passman and Sandi Kasting (1982, 1983 & 1984) as the only players in program history to lead the team in blocks in three different seasons. She is BU's active career leader in blocks with 226 and needs 73 blocks to move into Bradley's career top 10. Schmidt is tied with freshman Amy Angelos for the most blocks on the team and her 0.75 blocks per set average leads the squad.
Hotels at Grand Prairie Invite All-Tournament Honors
Sophomores Madelyn Ervin and Allie Gardner each earned spots on the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational all-tournament team. Ervin led the Braves in kills in two of the three matches and averaged 2.92 kills per set to go along with her team-leading five aces. Gardner started at libero in each of the three contests and posted a Missouri Valley Conference-best 5.83 digs per set average during the opening week.
Ervin Named Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Sophomore outside hitter Madelyn Ervin was named the Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week announced Aug. 31. An advertising major with a 3.78 cumulative grade point average, Ervin was named to the all-tournament team at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational after helping lead Bradley to a second-place finish. She averaged a team-best 2.92 kills per set during the three matches and also boasted a team-high five aces.
What's Back
The Braves return nine of 14 letterwinners, including four starters from last year's team, but youth still prevails on BU's roster. Bradley has nine underclassmen on the roster and 10 of the 16 team members boast one or fewer years of experience at the NCAA Division I level. Despite the prevalence of youth on the squad, BU's attack for 2010 includes five of the top six in kills from 2009 and seven of the top eight attackers from the previous year. In addition, Bradley's roster features four of the top five in digs from 2009.
Braves Picked 10th In Preseason Poll
Bradley was picked to finish 10th in a preseason poll of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, receiving 16 of a possible 100 points. Defending regular-season and tournament champion Northern Iowa was a unanimous pick to defend its title, receiving all 10 first-place votes.
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 for most home matches and pay-per-view video streams for all home matches will be available at www.bradleybraves.com.
Active Leaders
Senior Melissa Collins entered the 2010 season as Bradley's active career kills leader and is currently 26th all-time with 614 career kills. Junior Megan Schmidt is second among active players with 558 career kills (30th place) and needs 22 kills to move into 18th place. Junior defensive specialist Rachelle Dejean is the team's active career leader in digs with 940 and ranks 14th all-time at BU. Dejean needs 60 digs to become the 13th player in program history to reach the 1,000-dig mark.
