There's enough enthusiasm going into the match as it is, with Bradley and Illinois State writing the 90th volleyball chapter of the historic rivalry, then add on that the Braves are in a must-win situation to qualify for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, and it cranks up to 11. Braves at Redbirds is slated for a 6 p.m. first serve on Wednesday at CEFCU Arena.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE MATCH
Watch Live (ESPN+)
Live Stats (StatBroadcast)
GO... SALUKIS?
The Braves now need to defeat Illinois State to make the MVC Tournament, but also need the Southern Illinois Salukis to defeat Missouri State in Carbondale.
Although the Braves and Bears would have identical 6-12 league marks if those results hold, Bradley has the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating Missouri State 3-2 in Peoria back on October 29th.
If anything other than Bradley beating Illinois State AND Southern Illinois defeating Missouri State happens in those two matches, Bradley's season comes to an end on Wednesday.
BUMPY ROADS IN NORMAL
Bradley has only won twice in CEFCU Arena since 2002, and four times total since the series began back in 1983. The Braves won 3-2 in November 2019, 3-1 in September 2002, 3-2 in November 2001, and 3-0 in September 1978.
DIG IT UP
Bradley's 121 digs against Valparaiso in the 3-2 loss on Friday are the most of the season for the Braves, and the most since they had 126 digs in a four-set win at Drake in October 2019.
Serena Sparks (30), Silan Demirkol (29), and Doga Topcicek (25) all had 25 or more digs in the loss.
NEED A FAST START
A lot hinges on whether or not Bradley wins the first set of a match. In 2022, the Braves are (5-4) when winning the opening set. However, that record reverses course to (4-14) when losing the opening set.
SPARKS RISING
Serena Sparks combined for 40 digs this weekend, bringing her career total to 1,390, good for fourth in program history. She needs 13 digs to pass Yavianliz Rosado (2017-18) for third and 48 digs to pass Rachelle Dejean (2008-10) for second. Braves alum Hannah Thompson (2018-21) is the leader in the category, having 1,902 digs over her BU career.
Original source can be found here.
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