Last Week
Bradley went 2-1 for the week, sweeping Chicago State in the final non-conference match of the season before topping Evansville in four sets. The Braves ended the week with a four-set loss at Southern Illinois. Junior Megan Schmidt averaged 2.82 kills per set and hit .309 to lead Bradley offensively. Junior Rachelle Dejean averaged 5.09 digs per set in the three matches and helped the Braves average 17.18 digs per set as a team.
UNI Series
The Braves open the final homestand of the 2010 season Friday against 13th-ranked Northern Iowa. The Panthers hold a 49-9 lead in the all-time series with the Braves after sweeping BU earlier this season in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI has won 10 consecutive matches in the series dating back to a BU win on Sept. 30, 2005 at Robertson Memorial Field House. The Braves are 6-20 in home matches against Northern Iowa, which includes a 4-6 record in the Panthers' last 10 trips to Peoria.
Ranked Opponent
Northern Iowa will be the first nationally ranked team to visit Renaissance Coliseum when the Braves host the 13th-ranked Panthers Friday at 7 p.m. Bradley's last home match against a ranked team was Nov. 14, 2008 when 11th-ranked Wichita State visited the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. Since the start of the 1998 season, BU has played 23 matches against ranked teams and is 2-21 in those matchups, with both of Bradley's victories against ranked squads coming at home against a ranked UNI team. The Braves last victory against a ranked team was Sept. 28, 2002 when BU upset then 7th-ranked Northern Iowa in four sets at Robertson Memorial Field House.
Ending On A High Note
Bradley has made a habit of winning the final non-conference match of the season and this year was no different with BU sweeping Chicago State to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule. In 28 years of conference membership, the Braves boast a 20-8 (.714) record in the final non-conference match of the season. BU is an impressive 13-3 (.813) when ending the non-conference portion of the schedule at home.
Braves Pick Up First Valley Win
Bradley picked up its first Missouri Valley Conference victory of the season Friday at Evansville, topping the Purple Aces in four sets. The win was BU's first conference road victory since topping Indiana State on Oct. 6, 2007 and improved the Braves to 11-7 in road matches against Evansville.
Dejean Notches 1,000th Dig, Moves Into 12th
Junior Rachelle Dejean recorded her 1,000th career dig Tuesday against Chicago State and moved up one spot into 12th place on Bradley's career digs chart. The 13th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs, Dejean passed Julie Penn (12th - 992 digs) for 12th place during Bradley's road win at Evansville. Dejean is the first Bradley player since Stephanie Behrns in 2002 to record 1,000 career digs and enters Friday's match against 13th-ranked Northern Iowa needing 14 digs to pass Lisa LaMontagne for 11th place.
Final Homestand
Bradley opens the final homestand of the 2010 season Friday against preseason MVC favorite and 13th-ranked Northern Iowa Friday. The homestand continues Thursday, Nov. 11 against I-74 rival Illinois State and concludes Saturday, Nov. 13 with a match against Indiana State.
Schmidt & Collins Close In On Top 25
Senior Melissa Collins and junior Megan Schmidt are both closing in on Bradley's career top 25 in kills. Collins is BU's active career leader in kills with 619 and needs 10 kills to pass Sandi Kasting for 25th all-time at Bradley. Schmidt recorded her 600th career kill over the weekend and is 11 kills behind Collins in 27th place with 608 in her career.
Dejean Named BU Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Junior Rachelle Dejean was named the Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 3 after helping Bradley to a 2-1 record. She averaged 5.09 digs per set in three outings during the week, beginning with a 13-dig effort against Chicago State as she became the 13th player in program history to record 1,000 career digs. In a match at Evansville, Dejean collected 23 digs in four sets to help BU to its first Missouri Valley Conference win of the season and first Valley road victory since Oct. 6, 2007. She capped the week with 20 digs at Southern Illinois and moved into 12th on Bradley's career digs chart. An advertising major, Dejean owns a 3.71 cumulative grade point average.
Offensive Showcase
The Braves hit a season-best .337 and served up a season-high nine aces last week against Chicago State. The nine aces were the most for BU since tallying nine aces against Montana State Sept. 12, 2009 and the .337 attack percentage was Bradley's most efficient attacking outing since posting a .368 hitting percentage against Coppin State Sept. 5, 2009.
Leading The Charge
Freshman Amy Angelos had a match-high 13 kills in Bradley's win against Chicago State, nearly matching the Cougars team total of 16 kills in the process. Angelos, who has led the team in kills a team-best seven times this season, is the team leader in kills with 205 and ranks second in blocks with 60. If Angelos is able to pace the Braves in both categories she would be just the eighth player in program history to lead the team in kills and blocks in the same season and the first since Lindsay Stalzer accomplished the feat in 2004. The last underclassmen to lead BU in kills and blocks in the same year was Joy Ostendorf during her sophomore season (1994). No freshman has ever led the team in both categories. Andra Dystrup is the only other underclassmen to lead the team in both kills and blocks, doing so as a sophomore in 1987.
Coming Up Aces
Sophomore Madelyn Ervin has pushed her team-leading ace total to 32 and is averaging 0.58 aces per set over the last seven matches. For the season, Ervin boasts a Missouri Valley Conference best 0.41 aces per set. She has 20 aces in Valley play and is averaging 0.54 aces per set in league play. Ervin's 20 aces in Valley play are the most by a BU player since Lindsay Stalzer had 28 aces in MVC action during the 2005 season.
Tough Stretch
BU's match at Northern Iowa (Oct. 8) 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 151-66 (.696) record through Nov. 1.
Keeping It In State
Last week's match against Chicago State was the fifth and final non-conference contest on the schedule against in-state opponents and Bradley has played eight of its nine matches against teams from the Land of Lincoln counting four MVC matches against league members Southern Illinois and Illinois State. The Braves are 2-3 against in-state non-conference opponents and 2-6 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 37-25 (.597) 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 Renaissance Coliseum 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 530 fans per home match this season. The season record for average attendance is 457 set during the 1999 season. The Braves need to average 117 fans in each of the final three home matches to break the attendance record.
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 leads the team with a 2.25 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 closes out the home schedule with a pair of home matches against I-74 rival Illinois State (Thursday, Nov. 11) and Indiana State (Saturday, Nov. 13). Illinois State owns a 53-12 lead in the all-time series and the Redbirds have won 15 consecutive matches against the Braves. BU is 33-22 all-time against Indiana State, but the Sycamores have won each of the last three meetings and four of the last five overall. Bradley is 18-6 in home matches in the series with Indiana State.
Welcome Home
Bradley opened Renaissance Coliseum 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 26 contests of the year. In addition, newcomers have accounted for 75 of the team's 156 starts to date. Freshmen Amy Angelos is tied with junior Megan Schmidt for the most starts on the squad with 24 and leads the team in kills while ranking second blocks. Freshman Lauren Zerante has started 23 matches and ranks fourth on the team with 146 kills and is third on the squad in both digs and aces. The Braves have also used two newcomers at setter through the first 26 matches. Marquette transfer Shelly Mueller has started 18 matches at setter and is averaging 8.16 assists and 1.28 digs per set, while junior college transfer Jennifer Sykes is averaging 7.11 assists and 2.00 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 has moved into 12th on Bradley's career digs list. Dejean currently leads the team in digs with 289 and is averaging a team-leading 3.79 digs per set in league play.
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 240 and needs 59 blocks to move into Bradley's career top 10. Schmidt has a team-best 61 blocks on the season, but has just a one block lead on freshman Amy Angelos (60 blocks).
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 619 career kills. Junior Megan Schmidt is second among active players with 608 career kills (27th place) and needs 21 kills to move up two spots into 25th. On the defensive side, junior defensive specialist Rachelle Dejean is the team's active career leader in digs with 1,048 and needs 14 digs to overtake Lisa LaMontagne for 11th all-time. Dejean needs 58 digs to crack BU's career top 10.
