PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley Volleyball team continues a season-long, four-match home stand with a rare midweek match Tuesday, when the Braves welcome Northern Iowa to Renaissance Coliseum for a 7 p.m. match.
Bradley (9-5 overall, 3-2) looks to get back in the win column after suffering a three-set loss Saturday to I-74 rival Illinois State. Northern Iowa (11-5 overall, 3-1 MVC) is third in the MVC standings and has won 11 of their last 12 matches since defeating then 17th-ranked Louisville back on Sept. 7.
A subscription video stream along with links to live stats and a free audio stream for Tuesday's Missouri Valley Conference matchup will be available on the Bradley Athletics website (BradleyBraves.com).
The Braves have gotten off to strong starts this season, winning the opening set in nine of 14 matches and boast an 8-1 record when taking the first set. Under third-year head coach Jenny Maurer, Bradley is 12-5 (.706) at home when claiming the opening set after Friday's five-set victory against Indiana State.
Last week's five-set win against Indiana State, improved the Braves to 3-1 on the year in five-set contests. The three five-set victories are the most for Bradley since posting a 3-3 record in five-setters in 2010. The win against the Sycamores also matched Bradley's overall (9) and conference (3) win totals from last year.
Senior Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) will likely record her 1,000th career kill against the Panthers, needing just two kills to become the 12th player in program history to reach the mark. She is the only player to rank in the top five in the MVC in both kills per set (5th - 3.50) and attack percentage (3rd - .351) this fall.
Freshman Rachel Jones (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) looked impressive in her first career outing at Renaissance Coliseum Friday. Jones missed the first 10 matches of the season before making her collegiate debut at Southern Illinois on Sept. 27 and made a big impact in Friday's home victory against the Sycamores, finishing with 23 kills and a .559 attack percentage.
In addition to the 23 kills ranking as the top kill total by a Bradley player this season, it also was the most kills by a Bradley freshman in a match since Marika Giguere had 28 kills against Missouri State on Oct. 20, 2000. Even more impressive, however, was the .559 hitting percentage, which was the best by a Bradley player with 20 or more kills since Joy Ostendorf had 21 kills and a .559 attack percentage at Creighton on Sept. 9, 1994.
Senior Alise Tupuritis (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) has recorded double-doubles in five of the last seven matches and needs two kills and five digs to become the 13th player in program history with 850 career kills and 500 digs. Her seven double-doubles are the most by a BU player other than a setter since 2007.
Sophomore Kristi Chynoweth (Parkland, Fla./North Broward) also looks to continue her strong play in home matches. In the last five outings at Renaissance Coliseum, she has boasted a .430 attack percentage and averaged 2.35 kills per set compared to her season averages of 2.12 kills per set and .248 hitting percentage.
Bradley closes out the four-match home stand Saturday with a 7 p.m. match against MVC newcomer Loyola.
