Bradley Volleyball Set For NIVC Matchup Against Bowling Green

Julie Kestas

Volleyball 11/27/2018 4:47:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball will look to continue its historic season when the Braves take on Mid-American East Division co-champion Bowling Green in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Thursday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.

Making the first post-season appearance in program history, Bradley (23-8 overall) faces Bowling Green (19-11 overall) Thursday at 4 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in a first round match of the NIVC. The winner of the match between the Braves and Falcons will face the winner of Thursday's other opening round match in Ames, Iowa, between host Iowa State and Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake Friday at 6:30 p.m. in a second-round matchup.

A free video stream for both of Thursday's matches along with Friday's second round contest will be available courtesy of Cyclones.TV and BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats.

Bradley and Bowling Green have just one previous meeting with the Falcons pulling out a five-set victory over the Braves in 2003 at BU's Mark Twain Hotel Invitational played at Robertson Memorial Field House. The Braves are 16-33 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference after a three-set victory against Toledo earlier this season.

Bradley's 23 wins this fall more than double up the team's total from 2017 and the Braves have 23 victories for the first time since 2001 (24-8). In fact, Bradley is one of five teams in the country to improve its win total from last year by at least 13 games, joining Florida International, Northern Arizona, Stetson and Tennessee at +13 for the biggest improvement in the nation. BU's 13-win improvement compared to last season is the largest for the Braves since following up a 7-23 campaign in 1987 with a 22-15 record in 1988.

The Braves were well represented when the Missouri Valley Conference handed out its annual year-end awards, with third-year BU head coach Carol Price-Torok selected as the 2018 MVC Coach of the Year. Engineering the biggest overall improvement in the country and matching the largest one-year improvement in league play, Price-Torok is the first Bradley coach selected as the MVC Coach of the Year since Scott Luster in 2001.

The senior duo of Erica Haslag and Yavianliz Rosado both garnered First-Team All-MVC honors as Bradley had two first-team all-conference performers in the same year since 2003. Haslag is the seventh two-time First-Team All-MVC selection in program history and first since Lindsay Stalzer in 2003, 2004 & 2005.

Freshman outside hitter Hannah Thompson was named the MVC Freshman of the Year in addition to garnering Second-Team All-MVC honors. Thompson joins Stalzer as the only Braves to earn MVC Freshman of the Year honors (2002) and is the first Bradley player to earn all-conference honors as a freshman since 1993.

Rosado was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Tournament Team following the league championship. Rosado collected a Valley Tournament single-match record 40 digs in Bradley's opening-round matchup against Drake, finishing two digs short of matching her school record 42 digs set earlier this year against Drake. She is fourth in the nation in digs per set (5.91) and has averaged 7.08 digs per set in the last six matches. Her school season record 703 digs this season rank fifth among Bradley season marks.

Haslag has collected 20 or more kills in six of the last eight matches, averaging 5.18 kills per set with a .262 attack percentage during that stretch. Currently 13th in MVC history in career kills with 1,646, Haslag has risen to sixth in career kills among active players and is 21 kills from the top 10 in Valley history. She has 501 kills this season for the fifth-best season total in Bradley history and has joined Stalzer as the only players in program history to have two seasons of 500 or more kills.

Thompson owns a team-best 19 double-doubles for the most for a Bradley outside hitter since Stalzer (2005) and has pushed her season dig total (492) into ninth among school season marks. She has joined Big Sky Co-Player of the Year Kaylie Jorgenson of Northern Arizona as the only two players in the country with 360 kills and 490 or more digs.

Junior setter Hannah Angeli is in exclusive company of her own, after matching her season assist total from last year (1,208) and is the only Bradley player to have two seasons with 1,200 or more assists. She is closing in on seventh in career assists at Bradley and has averaged 1.24 kills, 10.84 assists, 0.20 aces and 2.91 digs per set over the last 11 matches, while hitting .265 during that stretch. Angeli has 12 double-doubles this season, including six of the last eight matches.

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