PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball closes out a three-match home stand Tuesday with a 5 p.m. matchup against Drake at Renaissance Coliseum as the Braves conclude a stretch in which they have played eight of the last 10 contests at home.
Drake (12-12 overall, 3-4 MVC) and Bradley (5-13 overall, 0-6 MVC) split the regular-season series last year, with the home team winning each match. The Braves have won four of the last five in the series and five of the last seven against the Bulldogs overall. Drake has a slim 30-29 lead in the all-time series, but the Braves are 15-13 in home matches in the series and have won four consecutive home contests.
Notes | The Valley on ESPN3 | Live Stats | Twitter Updates (@BradleySIDLive) | Tickets
BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats and the match will be available on ESPN3. The Valley on ESPN3 is available through WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
Tuesday's match marks Bradley's Missouri Valley Conference leading 11th home match of the year and the Braves will have played 10 of their last 14 MVC matches dating back to last season at Renaissance Coliseum.
Sophomore Taylor Thiele (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) is averaging a conference best 0.45 aces per set in league play after tallying four aces in two matches last week. Thiele, who is third on the squad in digs (2.42 per set) and fourth in kills (1.58 per set), reached a rare milestone over the weekend. The eighth Bradley freshman to collect 200 kills and 200 digs last year, Thiele is now the first Brave with 100 kills, 150 digs and 15 or more aces in both their freshman and sophomore seasons since Cindy Novak did so in 1992 and 1993.
Senior Lea Sack (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) is closing in on the top 10 in career digs at Bradley. Currently 11th in school history with 1,152 digs, Sack is just 13 digs from passing Amelie Rodrigue for 10th (1,164 digs) and 24 from taking over ninth. Sack's 4.71 digs-per-set average this fall would be the third-best season average in school history and her career average of 3.16 digs per set is tied for eighth. With 12 matches remaining in the 2015 regular season, Sack is 48 digs from becoming the seventh individual in program history to reach 1,200 career digs.
Bradley's 88 aces on the year are already four more than the team's total in 2014 and the Braves have their highest aces per set average (1.35) since 2003.
Following Tuesday's home match, Bradley opens a three-match road swing Friday with a 7 p.m. tilt at Wichita State. The Braves will play five of the next seven matches on the road.
