The Bradley volleyball team hosted the CEFCU Invitational this past weekend, where the team went undefeated to win the invitational title. The Braves are now 5-1, matching the best start through six games in the program’s history.
Senior Yavianliz Rosado racked up 75 digs throughout the weekend and won MVP of the tournament. Freshman Hannah Thompson finished the weekend with 33 kills, bringing her season total to 77. On Tuesday, she was named the MVC Freshman of the Week, becoming the first Brave since 2012 to receive the award.
Bradley opened the tournament against Western Illinois last Friday afternoon. Thompson set a season-high 29 digs in her first home match. Senior Erica Haslag tallied 17 kills while Thompson added 16 kills of her own, in route to a 3-1 victory.
“We both push each other,“ Thompson said of Haslag. “We are kind of different players, but in the end, we both want to win and we both want to score points for our team. I think getting out there and helping each other to the best of our abilities is how we push each other.”
In Saturday morning’s match against Toledo, the Braves broke the school record for digs in a three-set match with 85, as they swept Toledo 3-0. Head coach Carol Price-Torok said the team’s performance was impressive and surprising.
“When you’re in [the game] it’s kind of hard to really know [how many digs you have] because we feel like we’re very strong defensively so that’s something we want to do all the time,” Price-Torok said. “Having [Rosado] and Thompson [recording over] four digs a set: that’s insane.”
Rosado accomplished a record of her own against Toledo. She totaled 31 digs, her personal record in a three-set match. She set her previous record of 27 last season against Northern Iowa. Price-Torok praised her for her performance and striving to make the team better.
“[Rosado has] been really steady for us this far,” Price-Torok said. “She’s someone that is always doing a great job of game planning or going back and looking at film.”
In the final match, the Braves faced George Washington University. Tied at 26 and up 3-1, Haslag put the Braves up 27-26 with a kill and won the game on another kill the next play. Sophomore Sara Maddox led all Braves with 13 kills, followed by Haslag with 12 in the 4-1 win.
Considering the early season team success, Thompson said she is focused on increasing the team’s competitive attitude and winning more five-set matches than previous years.
“We’re feeling good,” Thompson said. “We know that our conference is going to be a lot tougher, so we can’t settle on the [wins] we’ve had so far.”
This weekend the Braves will travel to Gadsden, AL for the Gamecock Classic. They will look to build upon the best start in the program’s history versus Western Carolina at 10 a.m. today.
