PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley volleyball team travels to Denver, Colo., for the Pioneer Classic Friday and Saturday in search of its first win of the 2014 season. The Braves will be making a trip to the Centennial State for the first time since the 2003 season opener.
Bradley (0-3 overall) suffered a pair of tough five-set losses to defending MEAC Champion Hampton and Stony Brook during the first weekend of the 2014 campaign in addition to a four-set loss to DePaul in Chicago last week at the DePaul Invitational. The Braves played a five-set match to open a season for the first time since 2005 and four of the team's last six outings dating back to last season have gone to a deciding fifth set.
This weekend's schedule starts Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) against Kansas (2-1 overall), which advanced to the 2013 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and slipped out of the national rankings after starting the year ranked 22nd in the preseason AVCA poll. Friday's matchup will be the second meeting between the squads and first since the Jayhawks defeated the Braves in four sets in Peoria during the 1986 season. Bradley will face a Big 12 Conference foe for the first time since a 2003 contest against Missouri.
The Braves also have a pair of matches against undefeated teams on the slate Saturday. A 1 p.m. (CDT) match against tournament-host and Summit League preseason favorite Denver (3-0 overall) starts Saturday's action. Later that day, Bradley will take on Sam Houston State (4-0 overall), which features one of the top attackers in the country. Sam Houston State's Deveney Wells-Gibson ranked sixth in the nation in kills per set in 2013. Both Denver and Sam Houston State are first-time opponents for the Braves.
Links to live stats for all three matches will be available at BradleyBraves.com and a free audio stream of Friday's match against Kansas can be found via the KUAthletics.com at http://kuathletics.leanplayer.com/ In addition, a subscription video stream of Saturday's 1 p.m. match against Denver will be available - http://www.denverpioneers.com/collegesportslive/?media=459567
Junior outside hitter Jessie Tulacka (Westmont, Ill./Downers Grove North) opened the 2014 season on a strong note, earning all-tournament honors at the DePaul Invitational after she averaged 3.79 kills per set.
Tulacka, who reached double figures in kills in three consecutive matches for the first time in her career, collected a career-best 21 kills in the season-opening setback to Hampton. She is the first Bradley individual with 20 or more kills in a season opener since Lindsay Stalzer had 20 to start 2005 and her 21 kills were the most in a season-opening match for a Brave since Patti Culloton had 23 kills against Missouri to kick off the 1990 campaign.
Freshman Taylor Thiele (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) also reached double figures in kills in all three matches to open the year, including a season-best 14 kills against Stony Brook Saturday afternoon.
Thiele had 12 kills against Hampton in the opener for the most kills by a Bradley player in their debut since Alise Tupuritis had 17 kills against USC-Upstate to start the 2009 season. She joined Tupuritis, Marika Giguere (11 kills vs. Toledo in 2000) and Stephanie Behrns (10 kills vs. Maryland in 1999) as the only Bradley freshmen with 10 or more kills in their debut since the start of the 1992 season. Theile started the final two matches of the weekend and averaged 2.89 kills, 0.56 aces and 1.78 digs per set in her starts.
After the Pioneer Classic, Bradley closes out a seven-match, season-opening road swing Tuesday with a 7 p.m. match at Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill.
