Bradley University Athletics

Braves Rally To Top NIU In Five In Exhibition Action

Volleyball 8/18/2018 4:31:00 PM

DEKALB, Ill. – Bradley Volleyball dropped two of its first three sets against Northern Illinois in an exhibition Saturday afternoon at Victor E. Court before rallying to pull out a five-set victory (17-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-19, 15-8) over the Huskies.

Senior Erica Haslag and sophomore transfer Sara Maddox paced three Bradley players in double figures in kills with 15 each. Haslag added 11 digs and a pair of blocks, while Maddox had just one hitting error on 25 swings and hit a blistering .560 in the exhibition outing. Freshman Kat Poore added 11 kills of her own to go with three aces as Bradley served up nine aces on the afternoon.

Northern Illinois took the opening set 25-17 behind eight kills from Jori Radtke and hit .467 in the frame to take the early lead.

Maddox and Haslag took over in the second set with each posting seven kills with no errors between them. The duo combined for 14 kills on just 20 attacks to help highlight a 26-24 Bradley victory as the Braves pulled even in the match. NIU held set point at 24-22, when Maddox kept the set alive with her seventh kill of the set. Back-to-back Huskie errors put the Braves in front 25-24 and an ace by senior Yavianliz Rosado sealed the 26-24 BU win.

The third set had seven ties and five lead changes before a late Northern Illinois push gave the Huskies a 25-22 third-set victory.

In the fourth, Bradley broke open a 9-9 tie with a 9-1 run to build an 18-10 advantage. Haslag had two kills and a block during the spurt, while Poore added two kills of her own. The Braves never allowed the Huskies to get closer than five down the stretch and forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-19 win. Freshman Lilly Johnson helped highlight the fourth set with five kills.

Bradley jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the fifth set and never trailed in the frame as the Braves went on to take the deciding stanza 15-8. BU's lead stood at 9-6 when Poore and Haslag notched back-to-back kills to push the lead to five (11-6). The duo struck again later in the set for back-to-back kills to give the Braves match point at 14-8 and a Huskie attack error closed out the five-set comeback victory. Poore tallied four kills in the fifth and all 11 of her kills on the day came in the final three sets.

Rosado helped highlight Bradley's defensive efforts with a team-high 24 digs.

Bradley opens the 2018 regular season at the Eagle Classic in Morehead, Ky., with the Braves facing Hampton at noon (CDT) Friday.

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