Bradley Volleyball Announces 2014 Schedule

2015 Bradley Volleyball Schedule

BradleyBraves.com Volleyball 6/23/2014 8:30:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Two non-conference matchups against teams which advanced to the 2013 NCAA Tournament and the CEFCU Classic help highlight the 2014 volleyball schedule, announced by fourth-year Bradley volleyball head coach Jenny Maurer Monday.

The Braves open away from home for just the second time in the last six years with a trip to Chicago for the DePaul Invitational Aug. 29 and 30. Bradley will face defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champ and NCAA Tournament participant Hampton Friday, Aug. 29 in the season opener. The Pirates finished the 2013 season with a 19-11 record and won the MEAC with a 10-2 league mark.

The second day of competition will include matchups with tournament-host DePaul and Stony Brook. Bradley will play DePaul for the first time since 2008 and the two in-state foes will square off for just the fifth time in 18 years. Stony Brook is the second of four first-time opponents on the schedule for the Braves.

Bradley will travel to the state of Colorado for the first time since 2003 for the Pioneer Classic Sept. 5 & 6. The Braves will face a Big 12 Conference member for the first time since 2003, opening the Denver Invitational against Kansas, which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last fall and finished the year with a 25-8 mark. The matchup with the Jayhawks, who were second in the 2013 Big 12 standings, is the first in the series since 1986.

Tournament-host Denver was second in the Summit League standings last year and the contest Sept. 6 will mark the first meeting with the Pioneers. Bradley will also face first-time opponent Sam Houston State while in Denver.

A trip to Macomb, Ill., for a tilt with Western Illinois on Tuesday, Sept. 9 is the only mid-week match on the slate in 2014 for the Braves. Bradley will face the Leathernecks for the ninth time in the last 11 years to conclude a seven-match road swing to open the schedule. The Braves are 12-1 in the last 13 matchups with Western Illinois.

Miami (Ohio), UMKC and North Dakota State visit Renaissance Coliseum Sept. 12 & 13 for the CEFCU Classic to conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Braves will host an in-season tournament for the ninth consecutive year.

The Sept. 12 home opener against Miami (Ohio) is the latest home opener for Bradley since 2004 and will be the fourth match in the series with the Redhawks. The Braves won the only previous matchup with UMKC in 1992 and the contest against North Dakota State is the first match between the two teams since the Bison defeated Bradley in 1982.

Bradley opens Missouri Valley Conference play on the road for the first time since 2009 with a match at Drake on Sept. 19. The MVC home opener is slated for Sept. 26 against defending co-champion Wichita State and the Braves will face Missouri State Sept. 28.

I-74 rival Illinois State makes the trip to Renaissance Coliseum Oct. 10 for the first of only three Bradley home matches in the month of October. The Braves last played three October home contests in 2005. A two-match home stand concludes Oct. 11 against Indiana State.

Bradley's first home match on Halloween since 1998 will feature Southern Illinois (Oct. 31) and kicks off a stretch in which the Braves will play five of the final seven regular-season games at Renaissance Coliseum. A matchup with Evansville on Nov. 1 falls before the final road swing of the regular season, which includes a match at Illinois State on Nov. 8.

The final home stand of the year starts Nov. 15 against Loyola and includes matchups with defending MVC co-champion Northern Iowa (Nov. 21) and Drake (Nov. 22). The MVC Tournament will be held Nov. 27-29 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

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