PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball will open its new home court Friday and Saturday when the Braves play host to the season-opening Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational. BU will take the court for the first time Friday at 7 p.m. against in-state foe Western Illinois in the first athletic event in Bradley's new 4,200-seat on campus arena. The tournament kicks off earlier in the day with USC-Upstate facing Southeast Missouri State at 4 p.m.
The Braves new facility will be BU's fourth home court in as many years after playing the bulk of the 2009 home schedule at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. Bradley is playing its season opener at home for the second consecutive year and eighth time in program history. BU is 6-1 when opening a season at home and 18-18 overall in season-opening contests. For a tournament preview with Bradley Volleyball head coach Sean Burdette and assistant coach Melissa Emkes please click on the link above.
Saturday's action begins at 9:30 a.m. with Western Illinois playing Southeast Missouri State. The Braves return to the court Saturday at noon against USC-Upstate. Western Illinois and USC-Upstate face off at 4:30 p.m. and Bradley concludes tournament play with a 7 p.m. match against Southeast Missouri State.
Parking for all Bradley home volleyball contests is free at the Main Street Parking Deck located just west of the arena at the corners of Main Street & Maplewood. Overflow parking is available in the gravel lot west of the Markin Family Student Recreation Center located at Bradley Avenue & Maplewood.
Live stats for all matches will be provided on the Live Stats link at the top of BradleyBraves.com or via the link provided above. A subscription video stream for all matches is available via BradleyBraves.com along with a free audio stream of each match involving Bradley at the Live Event Schedule link located under the login on the right at BradleyBraves.com
Season tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children (K-12) at the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office (1600 W. Main Street). Personal Seat Options (PSO) also are available through the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office. With a maximum of 500 seats available in two levels, PSO ($500) and PSO Gold ($1,000), Personal Seat Options entitle owners to women's basketball and volleyball season tickets, as well as the opportunity to purchase tickets in their selected seats for any event in the arena (including Weezer on Sept. 25 & Jay Leno on Oct. 16), excluding commencement ceremonies, from Aug. 1, 2010-July 31, 2011.
Single game tickets are also available for purchase ($6 for adults and $3 for children). Bradley students, faculty and staff are free with valid ID. For more information about season tickets or PSO's please call (309) 677-2625.
