After a promising start to the season, Bradley’s volleyball team experienced its first rough patch. The Braves travelled to Kansas City, Mo for the Kangaroo Klassic tournament and went 0-3.
The Braves weren’t at full strength, according to head coach Jenny Maurer. With Missouri Valley Conference play getting closer, Maurer decided to give some players rest for various reasons. But she said that it wasn’t an excuse.
“We chose to rest a few players that had nagging injuries,” Maurer said. “We played the best competition to date, and making the adjustments we had to make to our team, we had to adapt. We weren’t able to do that, and our opponents weren’t forgiving. We just couldn’t get a rhythm going.”
In the first match of the tournament, Bradley lost to the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) in straight sets 25-16, 25-16, 25-23.
The Kangaroos dominated the first two sets of the match as the scores indicated. However, the third set was a battle, featuring 10 ties before UKMC pulled away late.
Senior Lea Sack had a match-high 21 digs, one dig short of the Bradley record in a three-set match. Freshman Raegen Jackson hit .385 and had a team-best six kills.
The second match of the tournament played out just like the first for the Braves. They were defeated in consecutive sets by Omaha 25-16, 26-24, 25-13.
Omaha took the first set by a decisive margin. The Braves led for most of the second set and were in position to win at 24-23, but the Mavericks pulled out three straight kills to take the set. Omaha then ran away with the third set.
Sack had six digs which put her at 1,006 digs for her career, making her the 15th player in Bradley history to reach 1,000 career digs. Senior Jessica Teel notched her first double-double of the season, with 12 digs and 11 assists. Sophomore Jamie Livaudais had nine kills and freshman Allison Turner added another eight kills.
Bradley’s third match of the tournament saw the same results as the first two: a loss in consecutive sets. This time the victor was SIU-Edwardsville with a score of 25-19, 25-23, 25-23.
Although the Cougars took the first set definitively, the second and third sets were closer. The second set saw 14 ties and two lead changes. Knotted at 23-23, the Cougars were able to take the final two points. The Braves seemed to be in position to win the third set with a 23-17 lead, but an 8-0 run from the Cougars sealed the sweep.
Sophomore Taylor Thiele was a bright spot for the Braves, posting a team-best nine kills and 12 digs. Freshman Erica Haslag added eight kills and six digs, while Turner provided a team-best three blocks to go with seven kills. Sack, who earned a spot on the Kangaroo Klassic All-Tournament team, had nine digs, four assists and an ace.
Maurer was able to draw some positives from the experience.
“For a young team like us, it was part of the growing pains,” Maurer said. “[There were] more teachable moments and more learning opportunities came out of this weekend than just the score.”
Bradley returns to the Renaissance Coliseum for the Bradley Invitational, kicking off a five-match home stand tonight against Southeast Missouri State.
