Volleyball Heads To Purdue For Reamer Club Xtra Special

BradleyBraves.com

Volleyball 9/1/2022 11:00:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball hits the road for the first time in 2022 with the Braves heading to West Lafayette, Ind., this weekend for Purdue's Reamer Club Xtra Special Friday and Saturday to kick off a season-long six-match road swing.

Action gets underway Friday morning with Bradley (1-2 overall) facing tournament-host and 11th-ranked Purdue (3-0 overall) at 9 a.m. in a contest available on BTN+. The Boilermakers reached the Elite Eight in last year's NCAA Tournament.

Friday's action also includes a 3 p.m. matchup with defending Horizon League champion Milwaukee (0-3 overall). The Braves wrap up the weekend Saturday at 11 a.m. against a Utah (2-1 overall) squad that reached the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

While Bradley played six road/neutral site outings to close the 2021 campaign, including the opening round of the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference and the first and second rounds of the NIVC, the Braves will play six straight regular-season matches away from home for the first time since opening the 2017 campaign with back-to-back road tournaments at Eastern Illinois and Ball State. Bradley was 8-9 in road/neutral site matches last year and boasted a 7-6 mark in true road matches last year for the team's most road victories dating back to 2001 (9-4).

The Braves will play six consecutive games in a different time zone for the first time dating back to 2011 when Bradley followed up three contests in a tournament at Akron with a trip to Conway, S.C., for three matches in a tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina. BU went 4-2 during that span with both losses coming against the tournament hosts.

Bradley capped off the season-opening CEFCU Invitational with a dramatic victory with first-year head coach Alicia Williams and the Braves rallying from a two-sets-to-none deficit for a five-set victory against Kansas City, which collected 21 wins in 2021. The Braves rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win in five for the first time since Nov. 10, 2018 at Loyola. Bradley's last rally from a two-sets-to-none deficit at home was Sept. 17, 2011 (Southern Illinois). The Braves are 7-5 in five-set matches over the last three seasons after going 5-4 in five-setters last year.

Junior college transfer Maike Bertens Deckart had a big impact for the Braves during the season-opening CEFCU Invitational, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. The former NJCAA All-American at Iowa Western Community College, averaged a team-best 3.00 kills per set during the opening weekend of play while attacking a .372 clip and paced Bradley in kills in the last two outings. In Saturday's two five-set matches, Bertens Deckart averaged 3.40 kills per set while boasting a .406 attack percentage. After Bradley dropped the opening two sets to Kansas City, Bertens Deckart averaged 5.00 kills per set and hit .462 in the final three frames to help the Braves rally from a 2-0 deficit to win a match for the first time since 2018.

Friday's matchup with #11 Purdue will mark Bradley's second match of the season against a nationally ranked opponent after the Braves kicked off the 2022 campaign hosting #21 Western Kentucky. At #11 in this week's AVCA poll, Purdue is Bradley's highest ranked opponent since hosting #11 Wichita State on Nov. 14, 2008. The last season the Braves played two matches against top 25 teams was 2017 (both Northern Iowa) and the last year Bradley played two different teams ranked in the top 25 was 2006 when BU opened the season at #16 Purdue and later visited #21 Arizona. The Braves are looking for their first win against a nationally ranked squad since a four-set win over then #7 Northern Iowa on Sept. 28, 2002.

After not appearing in the season-opener against #21 Western Kentucky freshman Kendall Minta played in both matches Saturday and made her first career start in the five-set victory against Kansas City, finishing with 10 kills and four blocks. In addition, fellow freshman Kaitlynn Peterson came off the bench against Kansas City to collect a team-best 16 digs to go with seven kills and two aces in her Bradley debut. The duo combined for 17 kills (3.4 per set) and hit .277 in the victory against the Kangaroos.

Bradley follows up the weekend tournament at Purdue with a trip to Oxford, Ohio, for the Bobcat Invitational Sept. 9 & 10 where the Braves will face Loyola (Md.), Ohio and Tennessee Tech.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens: OH; 6' 1"; Junior

#21 Kendall Minta: MB; 6' 3"; Freshman

#22 Kaitlynn Peterson: OH/RS; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens
: 6' 1"; Junior
: OH

#21 Kendall Minta
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: MB

#22 Kaitlynn Peterson
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: OH/RS

Volleyball Heads To Purdue For Reamer Club Xtra Special

Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens

#21 Kendall Minta

#22 Kaitlynn Peterson

Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens

#21 Kendall Minta

#22 Kaitlynn Peterson