If you check the Bradley volleyball team’s record, you will see a sad beginning that stands at 0-7 with one more set of games before Missouri Valley Conference play begins Sept. 19.
There is no beating around the bush. A winless record is not a good place to be when you start the season.
But, Coach Jenny Maurer said that she scheduled the games before MVC play to be much harder than last year so her team could prepare for the rigors of going against teams in the MVC.
“The team knew going into the season that is was going to be a tough schedule,” Maurer said. “We wanted to play some tougher teams that would prepare us for Missouri Valley Conference play and know we face some adversity with our record and losing a couple of players due to injuries.”
The Braves return home Sept. 12 and 13 after a tough stretch that featured four games in five days including the Pioneer Classic hosted by the University of Denver.
The first match of the tournament for the Braves featured nationally ranked Kansas University, who would go on to sweep the Braves in straight sets (15-25, 19-25, 20-25).
Next up would be the University of Denver, and it was a similar story for the Braves. The Pioneers made quick work of the Braves, as Denver would go on to sweep Bradley in straight sets (11-25, 8-25, 15-25). Freshman Afton Sobasky was second on team in kills with four and led the team in attack percentage (.429).
The Braves would close out the tournament against Sam Houston State and continued a similar pattern. This time the Braves took one set but end up falling in four sets (17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 20-25). Freshman Taylor Thiele led the team in kills with 10.
In a rare midweek game, the Braves headed to Western Illinois University on Sept. 8. The Braves would be without junior Jessie Tulaka and junior Kristi Chynoweth. Chynoweth was attending a family matter.
Injuries are piling up for the Braves as sophomore Kelsey Cave and Tulaka. Tulaka who has a shoulder injury will be getting an MRI and Maurer is optimistic that it is not serious. Cave saw her first action against WIU and put on a show. Cave recorded 12 kills while boasting a .550 attack percentage.
“She was a spark and a breath of fresh air [against Western Illinois],” Maurer said. “It’s hard to sit on the sideline for so long, so she came in and gave us a lot of energy not only on the offensive side, but on the defensive end as well with key blocks.”
Mauer said she does not want the task of pumping the team up to fall to herself or one of the other players. Instead, she said she wants Madison Kamp, the lone senior on the squad, to get the team fired up.
“As the lone senior, especially for our team, no one is looking for that war time speech from Madison [Kamp] to pump them up,” Maurer said. “What we need from her is a leader by example and someone who will let her play do the talking because our team is locked in mentally.”
The Braves open their home opener as part of the 2014 CEFCU Classic on Sept. 12 against Miami (OH.) at 7 p.m. and then return to action on Sept. 13 to play a doubleheader. The first game of those two games will be against University of Missouri- Kansas City at 12 p.m. The finale at 7 p.m. will be against North Dakota State.
