PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley Volleyball will face Drake in the opening round of the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament after the Bulldogs pulled out a five-set victory at Evansville Saturday night.
 
The #3 seed for the tournament, the Braves (23-7 overall, 13-5 MVC) wrapped up the 2018 regular season with a three-set victory over I-74 rival and Valley regular-season co-champion Illinois State Friday night at Renaissance Coliseum. 
 
Bradley will face #6 seed Drake Thursday at 5 p.m. in Springfield, Mo., in the opening round of the league tournament as the Braves make their first appearance in the MVC Tournament since 2013.  The Bulldogs won a tie-breaker with Loyola for the sixth and final spot in the tournament field, with Drake pulling out a five-set win at Evansville Saturday night coupled with a Rambler loss at Missouri state as the two teams tied for sixth in the final regular-season standings at 8-10.
 
The Braves have never faced Drake in the MVC Tournament and the two long-time conference members both qualified for the post-season event in the same season for the first time since 1996. Bradley and Drake split the regular-season series this fall with the home team each winning in four sets. 
 
The winner of the opening-round match between Bradley and Drake will face #2 seed Illinois State Friday at 5 p.m. in the semifinals.