Peoria Standard

Bradley Volleyball will be tested early and often, with the Braves playing three of their first five matches of the 2022 season against teams that reached the second round or later in last year's NCAA Tournament as first-year BU Head Coach Alicia Williams unveiled the Fall slate.

 

Five of Bradley's first six opponents won 21 or more matches last fall, highlighted by a matchup with Purdue, which reached the Elite Eight, and a pair of contests against teams that advanced to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament in Western Kentucky and Utah.

 

After an exhibition match at Big East Conference foe Butler on Aug. 20, the Braves kick off the 2022 campaign by hosting the Bradley Invitational Aug. 26 & 27 at Renaissance Coliseum.  The season opener is slated for Friday, Aug. 26 against a Western Kentucky squad that claimed the Conference USA title during a 28-2 season in 2021 and has won more matches (83) over the last three seasons combined than any other team in the nation.  The Braves also welcome Miami (OH) and Kansas City (21-10 in 2021) to Renaissance Coliseum for the season-opening event.

 

Bradley travels to West Lafayette, Ind., Labor Day weekend for Purdue's Reamer Club Xtra Special (Sept. 2 & 3).  The Braves kick off the weekend with the squad's first matchup against a Big 10 team since the last road match at Purdue to open the 2006 season with Bradley facing the Boilermakers at 9:30 a.m. (CT) on Friday, Sept. 2.  Purdue was 26-7 last year, ending its season with a four-set loss to Pitt in the Elite Eight.  Later that same day, the Braves face defending Horizon League regular-season champion Milwaukee (22-9 overall) and close out the weekend Saturday morning with a contest against Utah, which is coming off a 22-9 season that included reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

A trip to Athens, Ohio, for the Bobcat Invitational (Sept. 9 & 10) features the first match in program history against Loyola (Md.), which posted a 17-11 mark last year, in addition to contests against tournament-host Ohio and Tennessee Tech.

Bradley's last trip to the state of Ohio kicked off the 2015 season.

 

Bradley returns to Renaissance Coliseum to finish out the non-conference slate, hosting the Bradley Classic Sept. 16 & 17.  NCAA Division I newcomer St. Thomas along with IUPUI and Western Michigan make up the tournament field.

 

The 18-game Missouri Valley Conference regular-season schedule will start on the road with the Braves opening the league slate Sept. 23 at Indiana State and then heading to Evansville, Ind., for a rematch with the Aces after the teams met in the second round of last year's NIVC.

 

Nine of the next 13 matches will be played at Renaissance Coliseum with Bradley opening a three-match home stand against MVC newcomer UIC Sept. 30 in the first match as conference rivals.  The home stand continues with contests against Valparaiso (Oct. 1) and I-74 rival Illinois State (Oct. 4) at Renaissance Coliseum.

 

A trip to Iowa for matches at Northern Iowa (Oct. 7) and Drake (Oct. 8) falls before a two-match home stand that includes outings against Evansville (Oct. 14) and Indiana State (Oct. 15) to mark the halfway point of the Valley slate.

 

Bradley will visit MVC newcomers Murray State (Oct. 21) and Belmont (Oct. 22), leading into a season-long, four-match home stand.  The final home stand of the season kicks off Oct. 28 against Southern Illinois with Bradley's sixth home match in the month of October the next day against Missouri State (Oct. 29).

 

The month of November gets under way with home matchups against Drake (Nov. 4) and Northern Iowa (Nov. 5) to finish out the regular-season home slate.

 

A three-match road will conclude the regular-season schedule, with the Braves slated for a match at Valparaiso on Nov. 11 to start the final road stretch.  A pair of in-state road matches closes out the regular-season as Bradley heads to Chicago for a Nov. 12 tilt at UIC before a Nov. 16 midweek rematch at Illinois State to mark the second straight year the Braves finish the schedule on the road against their rival.

 

The MVC Tournament will be held prior to Thanksgiving with Evansville hosting the eight-team event which will be held Nov. 20-23.  

Original source can be found here.