The Bradley women’s volleyball team wrapped up a three-match road swing that kicked off the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule with a three-set sweep at the hand of Loyola.
Loyola hit .363 as a team, topping the Braves 25-16, 25-22 and 25-22 Saturday at Gentile Arena.
“We always try to focus on one game at a time and getting better every time,” head coach Jenny Mauer said. “Statistically, we played them better than we did the first
time we played them this season, so that’s a positive takeaway from this weekend.”
Freshman Erica Haslag led Bradley with seven kills, eight digs and two aces. Haslag was one of five Braves to tally more than five kills, tying junior Kelsey Cave for team-high honors with seven. Cave, who had no errors on 18 swings, finished with a .389 hitting percentage, and senior Cordelia Murphy attacked at a clip of .556 and added six kills of her own.
“Kelsey has been hitting for a high percentage consistently as of late,” Mauer said. “I understand that’s only one aspect of the game, but she’s been showing
gains daily.”
In the first set, Abby Ihrke served an ace that pulled Bradley within three points at 14-11, but Loyola answered with back-to-back points to open up a 6-1 spurt. The second set was a one-point match at 9-8 before the Ramblers took control with three straight points, which ultimately led to a 19-12 advantage.
Bradley pulled close at 22-19 and 24-22 before Loyola finished off the set. The Braves led for most of the third set and matched their largest lead of the set at 20-16, but Loyola went on to rally off five consecutive points and went up 23-21.
“We started the season 5-1 and then went through a rough patch,” Mauer said. “Now that the second half of the MVC season has started, we want to keep
playing teams better. If we learn how to finish better, we’ll be where we want to be.”
Bradley opens a two-match home stand today at 7 p.m. against Evansville at Renaissance Coliseum.
