The Bradley Volleyball team welcomes three freshmen to a 2014 roster which features just one senior after the team tied for sixth in the 2013 MVC standings and made the squad's first Valley Tournament appearance since 2005.
Head coach Jenny Maurer reflects on last year's squad and looks ahead to the 2014 season in the attached video piece.
2013 Bradley Volleyball Recap
• Bradley finished the 2013 season with a 13-15 overall record and tied for sixth in the Valley standings at 7-11.
• The Braves are coming off their first MVC Tournament appearance since 2005 and the squad's overall and league win totals were the best since that 2005 campaign.
• Bradley had two players with 300 or more kills for the first time since 2006.
• Lauren Zerante posted the second highest season dig total in school history (543) and finished fourth in school history with 1,343 career digs despite playing just two seasons at libero.
• Amy Angelos was a second-team All-MVC selection, making her the first Bradley player to earn all-league honors since 2006, and is one of four players in school history to have 250 or more kills in each of their four seasons on The Hilltop. She finished her career eighth in school history in kills (1,124), tied for 10th in career block assists (262) and third with a .263 career attack 0percentage.
• Alise Tupuritis became just the third player to lead the team in kills in three consecutive seasons and finished her career 11th in career kills. She had a team-best 14 double-doubles in her final season.
Looking Ahead To 2014
• The 2014 squad returns 10 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team which had the highest overall (13) and MVC (7) win totals since 2005.
• Sophomore Rachel Jones, who earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team in 2013, boasted a school-record .344 attack percentage as a freshman. After missing the first 10 matches of the season due to injury, Jones ranked second in the Valley with her school record hitting percentage.
• Junior Jessie Tulacka is the top returning attacker for the Braves after averaging 2.31 kills per set and she is the squad's active career kills leader with 345.
• Bradley's lone senior in 2014, Madison Kamp earned a spot on the MVC All-Tournament team after collecting 10 kills and four blocks against Southern Illinois. Kamp averaged 1.83 kills per set over the final six matches of the season.
• Sophomore Melissa Hoerber was second in the MVC in aces per set as a freshman and was the first frosh to lead the team in aces since 2009. Her team-best assist and ace totals both rank eighth among Bradley freshman marks.
• Despite having just one senior in 2014, the Braves will have a total of six upperclassmen.
About The 2014 Schedule
• The Braves will open the season Aug. 29 & 30 at the DePaul Invitational, marking the just second time in the last six years Bradley has opened the season away from home.
• A trip to Colorado for the Pioneer Classic Sept. 5 & 6 is the team's first trip to the Centennial State since 2003. The Braves will play Kansas, which was second in the Big 12 in 2013 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 on the first day of play in Denver.
• The home opener is slated for Sept. 12 as part of the CEFCU Classic, which will include Miami (Ohio), UMKC and North Dakota State. The Sept. 12 home opener marks the latest home opener for the Braves since 2004.
• Bradley will play just three home matches in October for the first time since 2005, including the first home match on Halloween since 1998 (vs. Southern Illinois).
• The Braves play five of the final seven matches of the regular-season at home with the Nov. 22 home match against Drake marking the latest regular-season home match in program history.
