Emotions ran high last weekend as the Bradley volleyball team (9-18, 5-10 MVC) played tough matchups against Northern Iowa and Drake in their last home games of the season. The Braves fell short by getting swept by the league’s top two teams.
“We came out very motivated and aggressive,” head coach Alicia Williams said. “We were performing really well [because] this is the last chance we have at home so give it all you got.”
Motivation seemed to be the theme throughout the weekend. Against Drake, the Braves were down 5-0 but rallied back to an 11-10 deficit in the first set. However, the Bulldogs raced past, winning the first set 25-16 and the second set by an identical score. The third and final set was closer, but the Braves fell 25-23.
Leading the charge for Bradley against Drake was junior Doga Topcicek with 11 kills while senior Karagan Coggin and sophomore Silan Demirkol both added seven each. Coggin and Topcicek both contributed with one ace.
“In the areas we were weak last time, we had gotten better at those,” Williams said. “Our girls played hard [and] for the most part executed our game plan.”
“We just started out super slow. We are a team that thrives off of high energy,” senior libero Serena Sparks said. “When you don’t start out like that, you have [to] dig yourself out of a hole.”
The following night, Bradley matched up against undefeated conference-leader Northern Iowa on Senior Night. The Braves came out roaring against the Panthers, as they were up multiple times in the first set. However, Northern Iowa used timeouts to their advantage and halted Bradley’s momentum, ultimately winning the first set 25-23 and then winning the next two sets 25-20 and 25-18.
“It felt like we couldn’t put a ball down,” Sparks said. “Our defense [just] wasn’t as strong as theirs.”
Filling the stat sheet was Topcicek once again, finishing with eight kills and seven digs. Junior Abby Johnson contributed with eight kills of her own and senior Raeann Bergman had seven. Coggin and Demirkol were also in the box score with each recording one ace.
With Senior Night being a celebration of the veteran Braves, Sparks says her demeanor was unaffected but her motivation was higher than normal.
“Senior Night in general really didn’t change my mindset,” Sparks said. “It made me work a little bit harder to get one last win.”
With three games left on the schedule, Bradley is currently on the outside of the MVC’s eight-team tournament bracket.
Sitting in ninth, the Braves are one game behind Missouri State but face a much more favorable road ahead. They will face Valparaiso, Illinois-Chicago and Illinois State, while the Bears will take on the top three teams in the MVC (Drake, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois). If Bradley and Missouri State tie in the standings, Williams and the Braves would own the head-to-head tiebreaker necessary to put the team in front.
Bradley will look to keep their playoff hunt alive this weekend as they take on Valparaiso on Friday and UIC on Saturday.
