The Braves kicked off their season on the road over the weekend as they traveled to Ohio to compete in the Toledo Invitational.
Bradley built momentum in their opening tournament, defeating the Binghamton Bearcats and Oakland Grizzlies, but ultimately fell to the hosts, the Toledo Rockets.
Bradley’s morning matchup against the Bearcats began with a tight first set. Both teams competed for the lead while sophomore Gracie Furlong contributed five kills out of the Braves’ first 15 points in the set. After a service error from the Bearcats, the Braves capitalized to take the lead and managed to win the first set, 25-19.
That energy carried into the next set and Bradley maintained the lead and finished strong to win, 25-12.
The Bearcats kicked off the third set with determination, striving to make a comeback. While the Braves were taken aback, they quickly rallied to take control, earning the matchup victory and their first win of the season, 25-20.
That evening, the Braves faced the Rockets. Bradley’s momentum from their Bearcat victory halted after a fiery start from Toledo, coming off their own victory as well. Despite a strong effort from the Braves, especially with five kills from sophomore Chloe Parker, the Rockets would take the set, 25-18.
Bradley went into the second set fighting, with both teams going back and forth on the lead. Toledo, however, capitalized on the Braves after three straight attack errors, and despite the scrambling effort, the Braves fell again, 25-19.
The start of the third set gave the Braves a glimpse of hope with a strong start, and the Rockets followed with a service error and three attack errors. With a 3-point lead and only two more to take the set, the Rockets rallied, winning the set and ultimately the matchup, 26-24.
With the Braves coming off a loss and the Grizzlies coming off a win, Bradley quickly took the lead. Oakland wasn’t far behind until the Braves had a seven-point offensive burst with four kills and a service ace, along with two attack errors from their opponents in the mix. Strong efforts from the Grizzlies were made to catch up, but the Braves held on to take the first set, 25-21.
In the second set, Bradley continued to dominate with another back-to-back seven points, putting them at a great advantage to take the second set, 25-16.
In the third set, the Grizzlies dominated, preventing the Braves from taking the lead and ultimately winning the matchup, 26-24.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle, with Bradley holding the lead – but not by much. Because of multiple service and attack errors by the Braves, the Grizzlies capitalized to take the match into a fifth set, with Bradley falling 25-17.
With tension and determination high on both sides, the Grizzlies fell under pressure. Six of Bradley’s 15 points had been from service and attacking errors, a weakness shown in earlier sets. The Braves took advantage of this and were able to win in the final set with a close 15-12.
Standout performances from the weekend included junior Maria Drapp, who had 113 assists and 38 digs across the three-game weekend and Parker being named Busey Bank Scholar Athlete of the Week.
Bradley volleyball will be traveling this weekend to compete in the South Dakota State Invitational against Western Illinois, South Dakota State and Northern Arizona University.
