Last weekend, Bradley volleyball traveled to Kansas City to compete in the Kangaroo Klassic. The team secured six of the 11 sets against Montana, Lindenwood and Missouri-Kansas City.
The Braves started the tournament versus Montana, who’d lost three straight matches heading into the contest. Unfortunately for Bradley, the Grizzlies found their stride this weekend and swept the Braves 3-0.
“I [don’t] think we were mentally prepared to endure a long match, so we just came out really flat,” head coach Alicia Williams said. “I felt like we had the potential to be the better team, but we just did not perform [well] so for the scores to be close. I was shocked because we didn’t look good on our side; it was self-inflicted wounds.”
Despite the team’s performance, Williams acknowledged that hitting efficiency and defense were the highest seen all year.
Bradley’s next challenge was against Lindenwood, and the team swept the first two sets 25-20 and 25-21. However, the Lions adjusted their game plan, adapting to the Braves’ play style and secured the third set 25-19. Bradley stayed poised after dropping the second set and edged the deciding set 30-28.
“A lot of times, the third set gets lost because you forget focus and teams adjust,” Williams said. “I would’ve liked for us not to mess around with it [allowing opponents to take the third set] but also, we are just trying to find ways to win.”
The Braves faced tournament hosts Missouri-Kansas City last. Similar to their contest against the Lions, the Braves secured the first two sets against the Kangaroos 25-17 and 25-20.
As Williams mentioned, teams tend to lose focus and adjust in the third set, and the Kangaroos won 25-18. Once again, this did not discourage the Braves, and the team ended the tournament with a 25-21 set win.
The Braves will host a conference competition at the Renaissance Coliseum against the Belmont Bruins and the Murray State Racers on Friday and Saturday.
