PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley volleyball team closes out the final home stand of the 2011 season with matches against Drake (Friday) and Creighton (Saturday) at Renaissance Coliseum, before finishing off the regular season with road contests at Southern Illinois and Evansville. Both home matches are slated to start at 7 p.m.
Friday's match against Drake will be senior night with seniors Annie Cave (Easton, Ill./Illini Central), Genevieve Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) recognized in a pre-match ceremony.
In addition to senior night, Friday will also be Military Appreciation Night. Any active or retired military with ID will receive up to five free tickets for that night's matchup with the Bulldogs. All tickets for Friday's match against Drake will be $1 and the first 200 fans will receive a free rally towel.
Saturday's contest against Creighton will mark the final home match of the year and will be part of a 2-for-1 ticket special. Any ticket purchased for the 7 p.m. volleyball match against Creighton or the 2 p.m. women's basketball season opener against Northern Colorado will receive admission to both events.
Live stats with an interactive chat will be available for both contests at BradleyBraves.com along with video (subscription) and audio streams (free). Friday's match against Drake will be televised (tape-delayed) in select markets on Mediacom's MC22. The match is scheduled to air Nov. 14 (7 p.m.), Nov. 15 (10 a.m. & 10:30 p.m.), Nov. 17 (7:30 a.m. & 8 p.m.), Nov. 18 (11:30 a.m.), Nov. 19 (Noon) and Nov. 20 (3 p.m.).
Bradley (9-15 overall, 2-12 MVC) enters Friday's match against Drake (9-20 overall, 5-10 MVC) three games behind the Bulldogs in the win column for the final spot in the upcoming State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Drake won in four sets when the two teams played in Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this year. Three of the last four meetings in Peoria between the two teams have gone to a deciding fifth set.
Creighton (16-11 overall, 11-4 MVC) is third in the Valley standings heading into a Friday night match at 12th-ranked Northern Iowa. The Bluejays posted a four-set victory against the Braves in the first meeting this season in Omaha, Neb.
Rachelle Dejean enters the final four matches of the regular season needing 37 digs to become the 26th player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 1,400 career digs. Schmidt is closing in on Bradley's top 20 in career kills, needing 11 to pass Nikki Pierzchala and is four blocks from becoming the sixth player in program history with 750 kills, 50 aces, 400 digs and 300 blocks.
The Braves will finish the regular season on the road, playing matches at Southern Illinois (Nov. 18) and at Evansville (Nov. 19).
