Last Week
Bradley dropped a pair of four-set decisions on the road, falling 17-25, 25-22, 18-25, 19-25 at Drake in the first Missouri Valley Conference road match of the year. The Braves capped the first Valley road swing of the year with a 9-25, 25-18, 10-25, 16-25 setback at Creighton Saturday. Senior Caitlin Staib tied a season and career-high with 12 kills at Drake and also turned in a team-best eight kills against Creighton Saturday to lead BU.
This Week
Bradley returns home to open a three-match homestand beginning with a Tuesday non-conference contest against Loyola-Chicago. The homestand also includes matches against Southern Illinois (Friday) and Evansville (Saturday). The Ramblers hold a 17-12 lead in the all-time series with the Braves and Loyola has won each of the last seven meetings. The series dates back to the 1978 season. Loyola holds a slim 11-10 lead in the all-time series since the start of the 1984 season, which includes a 6-3 edge in matches played in Peoria.
Home, Sweet Home
The Braves open a three-match homestand Tuesday with a non-conference matchup against Loyola and also face Southern Illinois and Evansville, before hitting the road again. Bradley plays six of the next 10 matches at home and nine of the next 15 overall in Peoria.
Serving Them Up
Sophomore Madelyn Ervin tallied a career-best three aces Saturday at Creighton and owns a team-leading 17 aces on the year. Ervin is averaging 0.54 aces per set over the last three matches and is tied for fifth in the league in aces per set for the season at 0.33. In Missouri Valley Conference matches, Ervin is second in the Valley with a 0.50 aces per set average. She served up a total of seven aces as a true freshman in 2009.
Keeping It In State
Tuesday's match against Loyola-Chicago is the third of five in-state non-conference contests on the schedule and the Braves will play a total of nine matches overall against teams from the Land of Lincoln counting the four combined meetings with conference members Southern Illinois and Illinois State. 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 36-23 (.610) against in-state non-conference foes since the start of the 1995 campaign.
Braves Face Valley Favorites
Bradley's first two weeks of Missouri Valley Conference play, has pitted the Braves against four of the top five teams in the 2010 preseason coaches' poll. BU opened league play with Wichita State (picked third in the preseason poll) and followed it up with a match against Missouri State (#2 preseason pick). Last weekend, Bradley faced Drake (#5 preseason pick) and Creighton (#4 preseason pick). Combined the four teams own a 46-14 (.767) overall record and 11-5 (.688) league mark. The Braves schedule doesn't get much easier, as BU's next three Valley opponents own a combined overall record of 34-8 (.810). Bradley does not face preseason MVC favorite Northern Iowa until Oct. 8 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Tough Stretch
Bradley is in the middle of arguably its toughest nine-match stretch of the season, with the Braves last five opponents combining for a 57-16 (.781) record through Sept. 26. Starting with the Sept. 11 match against Valparaiso and ending with BU's Oct. 8 match against preseason Valley favorite Northern Iowa, the Braves nine opponents boast a combined 97-31 (.758) mark. Only one team during that stretch has a losing record (Loyola at 6-7), while six of the nine boast a record of 10-3 or better.
Closing In On 900
Junior Rachelle Dejean jumped up two spots on Bradley's career digs list into 17th place all-time and enters this week's action needing just 24 digs to move up two more spots into 15th place. Dejean is 26 digs from becoming the 15th player in program history to record 900 career digs and needs 126 digs to become the 13th Bradley player to reach 1,000 career digs. The last Bradley player to reach 900 career digs was Briony Hammet during the 2005 season and the last BU player to top 1,000 career digs was Stephanie Behrns, who reached the mark Oct. 15, 2002 at Illinois-Chicago.
Blocking The Night Away
Junior Megan Schmidt notched a career-high 10 blocks to help lead Bradley's rally attempt against Missouri State Sept. 18. Schmidt also tallied a team-best 12 kills in the five-set loss to the Bears. The 10-block effort marked the first time a Brave had 10 or more blocks since Kaitlyn Comiskey against SIU Edwardsville (9/5/08) and the seventh time since the start of the 2002 season a Bradley player recorded 10 or more blocks in a match. Schmidt is one of three BU players to reach double figures in kills and digs in the same match in the last nine years. Bradley's 15 blocks against Missouri State is the team's highest block total since tallying 19 blocks against SIU Edwardsville on Sept. 5, 2008.
Climbing The Charts
Junior Megan Schmidt notched her 500th career kill against Missouri State (Sept. 18) and senior Caitlin Staib reached the 400-career kill mark against the Bears. Schmidt is the 35th player in program history to reach 500 career kills and needs 33 kills to move into BU's top 30. Junior Rachelle Dejean has moved into 17th on Bradley's career digs list (874) and is 24 digs from moving up two spots into 15th on the career chart, while her twin sister Genevieve is nine digs from taking over 40th on the career list.
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.
Youth Movement
Freshman Amy Angelos has reached double figures in kills in five of the last nine matches and has emerged as Bradley's leader in kills, averaging 2.31 per set. Angelos has started the last 12 matches and is averaging 2.33 kills per set, while hitting .261 in her starts. Over the last 10 matches, she is averaging a team-best 2.41 kills per set and hitting at a .272 clip. An underclassmen has not led BU in kills since Lindsay Stalzer paced the Braves as a sophomore in 2003 and a freshman has not led the team in kills since Jenny Pavlas in 1993.
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 four 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's 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 are the most by a freshman in the Missouri Valley Conference this season and highest output by a Bradley player this season. Angelos, who leads the team with a 2.31 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.
Home Tournaments
Bradley is no stranger to hosting in-season tournaments, having hosted an in-season tournament 20 times in the last 27 years and for the second consecutive year will host a pair of tournaments this fall. The Braves have also had quite a bit of success when hosting in-season tournaments, boasting a 44-22 (.667) record in those events. Bradley has gone undefeated in its own tournament six times (1984, 1985, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005). The Braves are 9-7 (.563) under head coach Sean Burdette in home tournaments.
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 continues a three-match homestand Friday with a match against Southern Illinois and wraps up the homestand Saturday against Evansville. Southern Illinois holds a 33-14 lead in the all-time series with Bradley and the Salukis have won seven consecutive matches overall in the series. SIU owns a 14-8 lead in the series in matches played in Peoria. Bradley holds a 23-14 lead in the all-time series with Evansville, but the Purple Aces have won each of the last six meetings overall. The Braves won the first seven meetings between the two programs in Peoria and BU boasts an 11-6 lead all-time in home matches against UE.
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 14 contests of the year. In addition, newcomers have accounted for 41 of the team's 84 starts to date. Freshman Lauren Zerante has a team-best 13 starts to her credit and ranks in the top four on the team in kills, aces and digs. Freshman middle blocker Amy Angelos has started the last 12 matches and emerged as BU's leader in kills and blocks. The Braves have also used two newcomers at setter through the first 14 matches. Marquette transfer Shelly Mueller has started 10 matches at setter and is averaging 7.41 assists and 1.11 digs per set, while junior college transfer Jennifer Sykes is averaging 7.76 assists and 1.90 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 became the 22nd player in program history to reach 800 career digs with a 15-dig effort against Fordham earlier this season. Through 78 career matches she has averaged 11.21 digs per match and needs 126 digs to become the 13th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs.
Redshirt Season
Redshirt freshman Alise Tupuritis made her return to the court during the opening weekend of play, playing in one set against Southeast Missouri State. Tupuritis missed the final 23 matches of the 2009 season due to injury. Prior to her season-ending injury she led the team in kills (97) and kills per set (3.13), while earning all-tournament honors at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational and Radford Invitationals. At the time of her injury, she ranked third on the team in aces (12) and digs (60) and finished the year sixth on the team in kills and fifth on the squad in aces despite missing over two-thirds of the season. Tupuritis will have four years of eligibility remaining.
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 211 and needs 87 blocks to move into Bradley's career top 10.
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 29th all-time with 577 career kills. Junior Megan Schmidt is second among active players with 509 career kills (35th place) and needs 47 kills to break into the top 30. Junior defensive specialist Rachelle Dejean is the team's active career leader in digs with 846 and ranks 19th all-time at BU. Dejean needs 51 digs to move into Bradley's top 15 and is 154 digs from becoming the 13th player in program history to reach the 1,000-dig mark.
