Bradley volleyball took a 40-minute trip to Normal, Illinois to end the regular season against Illinois State. After a hard-fought battle, the War on I-74 ended in the Redbirds’ favor, as they won 3-1.
The opening set was all Illinois State, as they won 25-19. Bradley battled back in the second set with solid plays and won 25-20, tying the game at one set each. Despite this, the Redbirds would win the third and fourth sets 25-17 and 26-24, respectively. It was a painful fourth set for the Braves, with them leading by as much as five points.
Junior Iva Popovic led the way individually, with an impressive stat line of 16 kills, two aces, four blocks and 14 digs. Senior Silan Demirkol, in her final regular season match in a Bradley uniform, put up nine kills, an ace, an assist and 12 digs.
Senior Beste Ayhan led the team in blocks with eight, two kills, an assist and five digs. Freshman Maria Drapp was the Braves’ assist champ, totaling 17 assists, three kills and 13 kills. Junior Vitoria Oliveira finished with a stat line of eight kills and a dig.
Despite losing this match, Bradley clinched their first season in the Alicia Williams era with a win percentage of .500 or better and an overall record of 15 wins and 15 losses. That includes a conference record of 10-8, which has helped Bradley clinch the fifth seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The Braves start on Saturday, where they will play the eight-seed Missouri State Bears, who split two games with the Braves this season. The Braves hope to perform well en route to a possible MVC Championship.
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