Bradley Volleyball Announces 2018 Schedule

Barathwaj Rudraboina

2018 Bradley Volleyball Schedule

Volleyball 7/25/2018 1:00:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- For the second consecutive year and third time in four seasons Bradley Volleyball will host a pair of home tournaments to highlight a 15-game home schedule with third-year head coach Carol Price-Torok unveiling the 2018 schedule Wednesday.

After improving its overall win total in each of the last three seasons and an improved Missouri Valley Conference mark in each of the last two campaigns, Bradley returns nine letterwinners in addition to welcoming five freshmen along with Mississippi State transfer Sara Maddox to the 2018 roster.

The Braves return a pair of players which had at least 250 kills the previous year for the first time since 2013, headlined by senior outside hitter Erica Haslag who ranked second in the MVC and 11th in the nation with 530 kills in 2017. In addition, junior setter Hannah Angeli tallied the ninth-best season assist total in Bradley history (1,208) and is the first returning Brave with 1,200 assists the previous season since 2004.

Defensively, senior libero Yavianliz Rosado had a school record 644 digs last season to rank 11th in the country and is one of four returning BU players with 300 or more digs last fall. Rosado helped Bradley rank 11th nationally in digs per set in 2017.

The 2018 season starts Aug. 24 & 25 with the first trip to the state of Kentucky in program history for the Eagle Challenge in Morehead, Ky. The Braves will kick off the season Friday, Aug. 24 against Hampton, in the first meeting with the Pirates since 2014 and the opening day of competition also includes a matchup against tournament-host Morehead State. Bradley and the Eagles only previous meeting was in 1986 at Butler. The final day of the season-opening tournament features the first meeting between the Braves and St. Francis (N.Y.) Saturday Aug. 25.

Bradley returns home to host the CEFCU Invitational Aug. 31 & Sept. 1 at Renaissance Coliseum. An Aug. 31 outing against in-state foe Western Illinois marks the earliest home opener for the Braves since 2013. BU has won 13 of the last 15 matchups with the Leathernecks and owns a 26-19 edge in the series. Bradley will put a 4-1 series record on the line against Toledo Saturday, Sept. 1 and the Braves will also square off with George Washington later that day, in the first meeting with the Colonials since 1991.

A trip to Jacksonville, Ala., for the Jacksonville State Invitational, Sept. 7 & 8 falls before Bradley's second home tournament. The only previous trip to the state of Alabama for the Braves came during the 1993. Tournament-host Jacksonville State is coming off a 23-13 season in 2017 and Bradley will also face Western Carolina along with first-time opponent Mississippi Valley State. BU won the only previous meeting with Western Carolina during a 2009 trip to Radford, Va., while the only previous meeting with Jacksonville State for the Braves was a 2004 contest at Butler.

The 2018 CEFCU Classic will be held Sept. 14 & 15 and features in-state opponent Eastern Illinois in addition to Omaha and Milwaukee. Bradley will face Eastern Illinois for the second consecutive year after the former Gateway Conference rivals went 11 years between matches when the two meet Friday, Sept. 14. The Braves will take on Omaha for the sixth time in eight years Sept. 14 to wrap up the opening day of the CEFCU Classic. A matchup with Milwaukee concludes the CEFCU Classic in addition to closing out the non-conference schedule.

Bradley opens the conference slate on the road at Southern Illinois (Sept. 21) and will travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on two-time defending MVC regular-season champion Missouri State (Sept. 22) after pushing the Bears to five sets on their home court last season.

Six of the next nine matches will be played at Renaissance Coliseum, with the Braves taking on Indiana State Friday, Sept. 28 in their MVC home opener. A home contest against Evansville (Sept. 29) closes out the month of September.

After road matches at Drake (Oct. 5) and Northern Iowa (Oct. 6), which advanced to the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament, Bradley returns to Renaissance Coliseum to host Loyola (Oct. 12) and Valparaiso (Oct. 13).

The only mid-week contest on the schedule Monday, Oct. 15 at I-74 rival Illinois State marks the halfway point of the conference schedule. The Braves host Missouri State Friday, Oct. 19 in addition to taking on Southern Illinois (Oct. 20) at home to open the second half of the Valley slate.

Matches at Evansville (Oct. 26) and at Indiana State (Oct. 27) fall before the home matchup with Northern Iowa on Nov. 2. The Braves will also host Drake Saturday, Nov. 3. The final road trip of the season opens Nov. 9 at Valparaiso and the last road match of the season is slated for Saturday, Nov. 10 at Loyola.

Bradley will finish the regular-season schedule at home for the third consecutive season, hosting Illinois State Friday, Nov. 16 in the final match of 2018.

The MVC Championship will be held Nov. 22-24 in Springfield, Mo., with the top six teams in the final regular-season standings earning spots in the field.

The Braves are scheduled to hold their first practice of the 2018 season Wednesday, Aug. 8 and will face in-state foe Northern Illinois in an exhibition contest Saturday, Aug. 18 in DeKalb, Ill.

Print Friendly Version