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Volleyball nets two wins in CEFCU Classic

Bradley’s volleyball team is continuing to draw on the success of the young 2015 season and is hungry to prove the early success isn’t a fluke.

Last weekend, they hosted the CEFCU Classic in Renaissance Coliseum and took second place with a 2-1 record in the tournament that included Weber State, Massachusetts (UMASS-Lowell) and Manhattan.

Bradley kicked off the tournament against Weber State and ultimately fell after four sets 25-20, 29-27, 26-28, 28-26. The last three sets went back-and-forth, featuring 34 ties and 13 lead changes.

Freshman Allison Turner led the Braves with 14 kills and freshman Erica Haslag added another 13. Senior Lea Sack had a match-high 23 digs and two aces.

The match was the first at home for the Braves, and it showed, according to head coach Jenny Maurer.

“We showed our first-home-match jitters and made some uncharacteristic mistakes, but we battled,” Maurer said. “We were relentless on defense. As a coaching staff, we were far from disappointed. Weber State was a good, well-coached team who capitalized on our mistakes, but we didn’t just hand the game over to them. We had our opportunities to win.”

The Braves were firing on all cylinders in the second match against UMASS-Lowell. Bradley had their best offensive match of the season, hitting .356, which helped them complete the 25-21, 25-13, 25-22 sweep.

Five Bradley players had six or more kills in the attack. Haslag had 13 kills and senior Cordelia Murphy recorded another 11 kills. Sack posted a match-high 17 digs to go along with her eight assists and two aces. Sophomore Afton Sobasky finished with 20 assists, eight digs, two kills and an ace.

“During the UMASS match, we were more in-system and were able to execute our offense better because of that,” Maurer said. “Our setters did a better job of getting our hitters involved, and we were able to keep them off-balance.”

The Braves rallied late to take the last set of the tournament against Manhattan 25-20, 26-28, 23-25, 25-15, 15-12.

Bradley took the first set decisively. The second and third sets both came down to the wire, with Manhattan coming out on top. However, the Braves were able to control the fourth set to break even and won the fifth set to take the match.

Senior Jessica Teel posted a career-high and Renaissance Coliseum record six aces, which was the most by a Bradley player since 2003. Teel also had 25 assists, eight digs and three kills. Haslag and Turner, who were both all-tournament selections, finished with 14, her season-high, and 13 kills, respectively. Sobasky picked up her team-best fourth double-double of the season with 24 assists and 11 digs. Sack had 25 digs, eight assists and four aces.

“The two key areas that we had success in against Manhattan was serving and blocking,” Maurer said, as Bradley had 14 blocks to Manhattan’s seven blocks and 12 aces to Manhattan’s seven aces.

Weber State took first in the tournament, going 3-0. Bradley took second at 2-1, Manhattan took third at 1-2 and UMASS-Lowell took last at 0-3. At 5-1 overall, Bradley has matched their best start since 2013.

“The team is buying in,” Maurer said. “The mindset is that we’re all in this together and that we’re ready to improve. Not only are the players taking direction well, but they’re taking risks and finding success with those risks. We’re just trying to prepare for Missouri Valley Conference play.”

The Braves return to action Friday at the Kangaroo Klassic in Kansas City, Missouri.

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