Bradley volleyball was in high spirits heading into last weekend’s matches against Austin Peay, Western Kentucky and Indiana in the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic. Fresh off back-to-back victories, the Braves looked to shake the up-and-down pattern that has defined the beginning of their season.
And in their first match against the Governors, it looked like they’d finally escape .500.
Bradley traded the first two sets against Austin Peay before crushing them in sets three and four. The Braves’ offense fired on all cylinders, and the team’s strong performance made it three wins in a row.
Bradley was ultra-aggressive throughout the match, which has been a theme in the games they’ve won. Senior Anna Kiss notched 13 kills throughout the match, more than anyone else on Austin Peay’s side.
When asked about their mentality heading into the contest, Kiss and head coach Alicia Williams echoed the same sentiment.
“We’re just trying to be aggressive,” Kiss said after the dominant performance.
“Aggression was a really big key for us,” Williams added. “Anna found some really great kills, even when she was off the net.”
The Braves barely had any time to rest before their match against Western Kentucky. They lost all three sets, including a grueling 26-28 defeat in the second. The game began only three hours after the start of Bradley’s first match.
The team refused to blame their loss on exhaustion.
“I thought we played very hard against Western Kentucky,” Williams said. “I don’t feel like we used being exhausted as an excuse to why we lost.”
The next day, the Braves faced their toughest challenge of the season: 8-1 Indiana. Despite going down 2-0, Bradley took the third set to avoid the sweep. The team played with tenacity and toughness, holding their own against an opponent that ranks fifth in an incredibly competitive Big Ten conference.
“That [set] we played really aggressive,” Kiss said. “It’s always a good feeling when you can take a set against a good team.”
This weekend, the Braves play their first matches against conference opponents Evansville and Illinois State.
“We can’t have a good postseason if we don’t have good conference play,” Williams said. “I think our girls are pretty hungry about starting the most important part of our season.”
