Bradley volleyball (11-11) ended its five-game homestand on a high note, taking down Drake on Friday and Northern Iowa on Saturday.
The Braves dominated the Bulldogs to start the weekend, sweeping the match 25-20, 25-15, 25-22. Senior Hannah Thompson notched her 72nd career double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs, and junior Karagan Coggin had a team-high 12 kills while hitting an astonishing .632 to lead Bradley in the contest.
Bradley has now beaten Drake in both meetings this year and head coach Carol Price-Torok thinks that’s because the matchup favors them heavily.
“I think we’re two really different teams,” Price-Torok said. “They use a lot of their pins to attack and we use a lot of offense in the middle, so I think the matchup of our middles versus theirs is one of the reasons for a lot of our success.”
Junior Raeann Bergman had a career-best 10 blocks at the net, just one shy of the Bradley record for a three-set match which was achieved in 2004. Pacing the team with 81 blocks and 1.04 blocks per set this season, she credits those around her for her success on Friday.
“It’s the middle of the season and we’re finally starting to put all the pieces together,” Bergman said. “My right side [was] setting the block up really well and putting me in really good positions to do what I was able to do.”
Saturday started off strong, with the Braves taking the first two sets from UNI 25-18 and 25-16 behind a couple first-set runs of 7-2 and 7-1, as well as an 11-0 second-set run. Bradley hit a combined .313 in the first two sets.
Northern Iowa came roaring back in the next two, setting up a deciding fifth frame thanks to 10 kills by Emily Holterhaus, who had 20 in the contest. She was one of the four Panthers to finish with double-digit kills.
The fifth set was the Kora Kauling show, as the senior notched four kills and seven assists in the 15-13 last-set victory to clinch the game for the Braves, moving them into sole possession of fourth place in the MVC. She finished with 10 kills, 27 assists and 15 digs, the program’s first triple-double since 2003.
“Kora is very humble and she would never gloat about it, but it’s awesome for her,” Bergman said of the achievement. “That’s kind of unheard of and I think more people should know about it.”
Price-Torok also congratulates Kauling and thinks the feat is an indicator of her hard work and reliability.
“I think it shows just how much we rely on her from an offensive and defensive side of things,” Price-Torok said. “We’ve really been challenging her and Carlee [Camlin] to be more defensive-oriented … and I think she’s really been focusing on that stuff. I’m excited for her and hope that she can continue to use those numbers and that achievement to propel her to the second half of conference [play].”
Three of Bradley’s last four matches have gone the distance, marking the longest such streak this season. A 2-0 lead against Northern Iowa turned into a 3-2 victory but Price-Torok has challenged the team to finish business earlier in matches.
“I think we need to kind of focus in the middle of matches a little bit more, so we don’t have to go five sets, but I am pretty proud of our kids,” Price-Torok said. “To be able to have longevity against top teams is great, but when we’re in rhythm, and we have the end in sight, we’ve git to be able to come out in set three or set four and finish out some of the matches.”
The Braves go back on the road to take on Missouri State today at 6 p.m before heading to Carbondale, Illinois to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Very nice column, maybe that’s because I understand volleyball a little more than tennis or soccer. Did your mom tell you, back in the day, volleyball games were a marathon experience? Lots of back and forth. Your team couldn’t score a point unless your team had served the ball. So glad they changed that rule.