Bradley Volleyball Announces 2019 Schedule

Volleyball 7/15/2019 1:30:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- After a historic 2018 campaign which resulted in the first postseason appearance in program history, Bradley Volleyball will play a total of 14 home contests in 2019 with fourth-year head coach Carol Price-Torok unveiling the 2019 slate Monday.

The Braves will face three teams during the 2019 non-conference schedule which reached last fall's NCAA Tournament and 11 of 29 regular-season matches will be against team's that advanced to the postseason in 2018.

Bradley went 10-2 in non-conference play last season and the 24-9 campaign was highlighted by a school record 14 home victories (14-1). The Braves will host a pair of home tournaments for the third consecutive year and fourth time in five seasons in 2019.

The 2019 season will open with a road trip, however, with Bradley making its first trip to the state of Texas since playing at the North Texas Tournament in Denton, Texas, to open the 1997 campaign. The SMU Doubletree Invitational in Dallas, Texas, will be held Aug. 30 & 31 with the Braves facing a trio of teams from the Lone Star State.

A 12:30 p.m. match against tournament-host SMU on Aug. 30, marks the first meeting with the Mustangs and latest season opener for Bradley dating back to 2013. The Braves return to the court later that day for a 5 p.m. contest against 2018 NCAA Tournament participant Stephen F. Austin, which posted a 32-3 overall record and won the Southland Conference regular-season title with a perfect 16-0 mark.

Bradley's trip to Dallas concludes Saturday, Aug. 31 with an 11 a.m. matchup with UTSA. The Roadrunners were 19-8 last year and this year's contest marks just the second meeting between the two squads, with the Braves winning a four-set match vs. UTSA in 1995 in Jonesboro, Ark.

The first of two home tournaments will be held Sept. 6 & 7 with Bradley welcoming Belmont, Oakland and DePaul to Renaissance Coliseum for the CEFCU Invitational. The Braves face Belmont in their home opener Friday, Sept. 6 at 12:30 p.m. in the first meeting with the Bruins since 2005. Bradley topped Belmont in four sets in the only other contest in the series.

Oakland will also be visiting Peoria for the first time since that same 2005 home tournament for the Braves, with Bradley pulling out a four-set win over the Grizzlies in the 2005 home opener. The Braves will face Oakland in a 7 p.m. game on Sept. 6, before closing out the tournament Saturday, Sept. 7 vs. in-state foe DePaul (2 p.m.). Bradley owns a 14-11 lead in the all-time series with the Blue Demons, with this year's matchup marking just the fifth overall meeting and second game in Peoria in the series since 2002.

A stretch of 10 consecutive matches in the state of Illinois continues with a trip to the Windy City for the UIC Invitational, Sept. 13 & 14. Tournament-host Illinois-Chicago is coming off an 18-13 season, with Bradley scheduled to take on the Flames in a 7 p.m. match Friday, Sept. 13. The teams played twice in 2017 and have met a total of 27 times.

The first meeting with Sacramento State kicks off Saturday's action at the UIC Invitational (10 a.m.), while Bradley will face 2018 NCAA Tournament participant Murray State at 4 p.m. that afternoon. The Racers were 22-10 last fall to mark the team's fifth consecutive year with 22 or more wins. The Braves swept Murray State in a home match in 2017 to knot the series at 1-1 with the Racers winning the first meeting between the two programs in 1989.

The second home tournament of the year wraps up the non-conference schedule with Bradley hosting South Dakota and Northern Illinois for the round-robin CEFCU Classic Sept. 20 & 21. South Dakota posted a 21-10 mark last year, capping the season with a NCAA Tournament appearance. The Sept. 20 (7 p.m.) meeting will mark the first matchup in the series since 1977.

Northern Illinois will be Bradley's final non-conference opponent with the Braves and Huskies squaring off Saturday, Sept. 21 in a 2 p.m. match at Renaissance Coliseum during Family Weekend. This year's matchup marks the ninth time in 17 seasons the in-state teams will meet and the 20th overall contest in the series.

Bradley opens the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference portion of the schedule at home with Southern Illinois visiting on Friday, Sept. 27 and the Braves will play five of the first eight league games at Renaissance Coliseum. After hosting Missouri State Saturday, Sept. 28, Bradley travels to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on Indiana State in the first road match of the conference slate on Monday, Sept. 30.

The Braves return to Renaissance Coliseum to play defending MVC regular-season co-champion Illinois State Friday, Oct. 4, before kicking off the Iowa road swing Oct. 11 at MVC co-champion and 2018 MVC Tournament champ Northern Iowa. An Oct. 12 match at Drake wraps up the two-game road trip.

Bradley plays just three home matches in the month of October, hosting Valparaiso Friday, Oct. 18 and Loyola on Saturday, Oct. 19 to close a stretch in which the Braves will play seven of 10 contests at home.

A trip to Springfield, Mo., to face Missouri State on Oct. 25 kicks off a four-match road swing, which includes matches at Southern Illinois (Oct. 26), at Illinois State (Nov. 1) and at Evansville (Nov. 4). Home matches against Drake (Nov. 8) and Northern Iowa (Nov. 9) fall before the final road swing of the regular season - Nov. 15 at Loyola & Nov. 16 at Valparaiso.

For the fourth consecutive year the Braves finish out the regular-season schedule at home, welcoming Evansville to Renaissance Coliseum Friday, Nov. 22 and Bradley will face Indiana State on Senior Day Saturday, Nov. 23 to mark the first time since 2010 the Sycamores will be the final home opponent.

Bradley hosts Milwaukee in its lone exhibition match Aug. 21 at Renaissance Coliseum. The 2019 MVC Tournament will be held Nov. 28-30 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Print Friendly Version