Last weekend, Bradley volleyball hosted another conference competition in the Renaissance Coliseum against the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, Drake and Northern Iowa.
The Braves’ first test of the weekend was against the Bulldogs. Bradley quickly fell to Drake in the first and second sets, 25-18 and 25-14. However, the Braves increased their intensity, resulting in wins in the third and fourth sets, 25-19 and 25-18, respectively.
The fifth set was tightly contested. Both teams communicated well and attacked the ball. The set came down to the wire, but unfortunately, a kill from Drake senior Thea Rotto and an error by the Braves led to a 15-13 defeat.
“When we went into an intermission, I just said [to the team] I didn’t think we were competing very hard,” head coach Alicia Williams said. “If we competed hard, we had a chance to go out and beat them [the Bulldogs]. The last two balls [of the fifth set] were unfortunate, but our demeanor was fearless [after that intermission].”
Despite the loss, Bradley walked in with their heads held high to face the undefeated Panthers. During the first set of the game, tensions were high as the Braves continued to fight back from deficits. However, the Panthers were resilient and took the first set 27-25.
After the first set, the Braves could no longer keep pace with Northern Iowa. The Panthers dominated the second set 25-17 and the third 25-8.
“We competed really hard in the first set,” Williams said. “[The Panthers] adjusted really well in the third set…the ways that we were scoring in the first set weren’t working anymore. They’re the toughest two teams, three with Illinois State, that we’ve faced.”
The Braves will face Valparaiso and the University of Illinois Chicago on Friday.
