Bradley University Athletics issued the following announcement on Oct. 18
For the second time in three nights Bradley Volleyball fell in five sets with I-74 rival Illinois State snapping a three-match home win streak in the series for the Braves as the Redbirds posted a 25-23, 16-25, 13-25, 25-19, 15-7 Monday night at Renaissance Coliseum.
The teams entered the contest in a four-way tie for second in the Missouri Valley Conference standings and Bradley (9-11 overall, 5-4 MVC) riding a three-match home win streak in the series with Illinois State (10-11 overall, 6-3 MVC) dating back to a 2017 Redbird victory in Peoria.
The loss dropped Bradley into fifth in the MVC standings at the halfway point of the conference schedule, while Illinois State took over sole possession of second.
Senior Hannah Thompson turned in her 13th double-double of the year, collecting 13 kills and a match-high 17 digs as she notched the 1,700th dig of her career in the first set. Thompson is now the fifth player in MVC history with 1,200 career kills and 1,700 or more digs and the first in league history while playing their entire career under the rally-scoring format.
Sophomore Abby Johnson matched a season high with 10 kills, while attacking at .389 clip to help highlight Bradley's offensive efforts.
In the opening set, Illinois State led by as many as five points (23-18) before the Braves made a late push. Thompson, who had five kills and six digs in the first set, sparked a four-point Bradley spurt with a kill. Back-to-back Redbird errors were followed by a Silan Demirkol kill that pulled the Braves within one at 23-22. After Illinois State grabbed set point at 24-22 on an Aliyah Moore kill, Johnson found the floor with a kill of her own to once again make it a one-point contest at 24-23. The Redbirds got a kill from Tamara Otene, however, to take the first 25-23.
Bradley got off to a strong start in the second, jumping out to a 9-3 lead thanks in part to aces by Carlee Camlin and Demikol along with a pair of blocks from senior Kora Kauling and junior Karagan Coggin. The Bradley lead was 16-14 when the Braves broke things open with six straight points. Demirkol served up two more aces and four ISU errors helped Bradley build a 22-14 advantage. The Braves took the second set 25-16, forcing the Redbirds into 10 attack errors.
Another strong start to the third set and 13 more attack errors from Illinois State helped Bradley pull away for a convincing 25-13 victory. Junior Raeann Bergman had a pair of kills and a block to highlight a 6-1 run to open the third. With BU holding a 17-10 edge, Johnson notched back-to-back kills and Bergman had a solo block during a 4-0 spurt that pushed the Bradley lead to 21-10 as the Braves cruised to the 25-13 win.
Illinois State used a 6-1 push midway through the fourth set to take control. The Redbirds held a 10-8 lead when five different ISU players tallied kills during a 6-1 run that gave Illinois State a 16-9 advantage. Demirkol had a kill and block to cap a 4-0 BU spurt that made it a two-point deficit at 16-14. With ISU leading 17-15, the Redbirds rattled off five straight to build a 22-15 and eventually took the set 25-19 to force a deciding fifth frame.
Bradley had held Illinois State to a combined .095 hitting through the first four sets, but the Redbirds came alive in the fifth to collect 10 kills and hit at a .600 clip. After the Braves pulled even at 2-2 on a Bergman kill, Illinois State scored the next three points and nine of the next 11 to build an 11-4 edge. ISU's Sarah Kushner, who finished with 13 kills in the match, had three kills during the decisive run. The Redbirds would claim the fifth set 15-7 to snap the Bradley home win streak in the series.
Tamara Otene was one of three Illinois State players in double figures in kills, finishing with a match-high 17 kills. Kaitlyn Prondzinski added 10 kills of her own.
Bradley continues a season-long, five-match home stand Friday with a 6 p.m. contest against Drake at Renaissance Coliseum.
Original source can be found here.
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