Bradley BRAD 19-5, 9-3 MVC

Evansville UE 8-17, 2-10 MVC

Bradley BRAD

19-5, 9-3 MVC

Final

Oct. 26, 2018

Evansville UE

8-17, 2-10 MVC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Bradley BRAD	25	25	21	22	15	(3)
Evansville UE	23	23	25	25	13	(2)

Box Score

Duane Zehr

Braves Earn Five-Set Win At Evansville

Box Score

Game Recap: Volleyball | 10/26/2018 10:26:00 PM

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Senior Erica Haslag had a team-high 24 kills and freshman Hannah Thompson turned in her team-best 14^th double-double of the year with 10 kills and 19 digs to help Bradley Volleyball pull out a 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 22-25, 15-13 road win at Evansville Friday.

The Braves hung on to sole possession of third in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with the victory, improving to 19-5 overall and 9-3 in Valley play. Bradley has won 19 matches in a season for the first time since finishing the 2002 campaign with a 19-13 overall mark and the last time the Braves won at least nine Valley matches was 2005 (9-9).

Evansville (8-17 overall, 2-10 MVC) led 21-20 in the first set, only to have Bradley rally to pull out a 25-23 victory. Thompson, who had six kills and eight digs in the first two sets, tied things up at 21-21 with a kill and back-to-back errors by the Aces gave the Braves a 23-21 edge. Evansville eventually pulled even at 23-23, before Thompson broke the tie with her third kill of the set to give Bradley set point at 24-23. Haslag's only kill of the first set capped a 25-23 Bradley win.

In the second set, Evansville was the first team to reach 20 points, building a 20-17 edge on a kill by Kerra Cornist. The Purple Aces appeared poised to even the match at one set each after holding a 22-20 advantage. Sophomore Sara Maddox had a kill and block to tie things up at 22-22, however, and Bradley later held set point at 24-22 after a pair of Evansville errors. Thompson closed out what was another 25-23 BU victory with her sixth kill of the match as Bradley took a two-sets-to-none lead.

Evansville used a late rally in the third to keep the Braves from the three-set victory. Bradley led by as many as five points in the third (18-13), before the Aces made a late push. Haslag would record seven third-set kills, but Evansville used a 5-0 run to take a 20-19 lead and closed out the third with a 4-0 spurt to force a fourth set with a 25-21 win.

Haslag would collect another seven kills in the fourth set on just 11 swings with no errors. Evansville hit .395 as a team, however, and was able to hold off the Braves to push the contest to a deciding fifth set. The Braves led by as many as six points (15-9) on one of junior Maggie Revell's three fourth-set kills. The Aces chipped away at the BU advantage to eventually pull even at 21-21 and had set point (24-21) on a Milderlis Rodriguez kill. Haslag's seventh kill of the set and 19^th of the night pulled Bradley within two, but a service error by the Braves gave Evansville the fourth set 25-22.

The Purple Aces appeared to be in command in the fifth after building a 10-7 lead. Junior setter Hannah Angeli sparked a 4-0 BU run with a kill and a pair of Evansville errors along with a Haslag kill gave Bradley an 11-10 lead. The Purple Aces got back-to-back kills from Rodriguez and Rocio Fortuny to go back in front 12-11. Haslag answered with a kill, however, to once again tie things up at 12-12 and a block by Maddox and Revell gave the Braves a 13-12 edge. Bradley held match point at 14-12 following another Haslag kill and the senior answered an Evansville point with a kill (5^th of the set) to cap a 15-13 win as the Braves improved to 3-3 on the road in Valley play this fall.

Haslag finished with 24 kills for her 17^th career outing with 20 or more kills. Thompson was one of five Bradley players to finish with 10 or more digs, notching 10 kills and 19 digs for her 14^th double-double of the year as the tied the Bradley freshman record for double-doubles held by Marika Giguere (2000). Maddox reached double figures in kills for the fourth time in the last six outings with 13 kills.

Evansville was paced by Rodriguez, who finished with a career-high 29 kills and 21 digs. Olivia Goldstein added a match-high 30 digs to help the Aces to a 106-92 advantage in digs.

Bradley closes out a two-match road swing Saturday with a 6 p.m. (CDT) match at Indiana State.

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