Omaha OMAHA 5-6

Bradley BRAD 9-2

Omaha OMAHA

5-6

Final

Sep. 14, 2018

Bradley BRAD

9-2

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Omaha OMAHA	17	20	26	25	10	(2)
Bradley BRAD	25	25	24	22	15	(3)

Box Score

Julie Kestas

Volleyball Grinds Out Five-Set Win Over Omaha

Game Recap: Volleyball | 9/14/2018 10:07:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Erica Haslag notched a season-best 27 kills, including 18 in the final three sets, to help power Bradley Volleyball to a 25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 25-22, 15-10 victory over Omaha Friday night at Renaissance Coliseum in the final match of the opening day of the 2018 CEFCU Classic.

Haslag paced three Bradley in double figures in kills with her match and season-high 27 kills, while attacking at a .431 clip. Freshman Rachel Pranger eclipsed her season high for kills (12) set earlier in the day against Eastern Illinois with 19 kills. Fellow freshman Hannah Thompson turned in her team-high fifth double-double of the year (11 kills & 18 digs).

Bradley improved to 5-0 at Renaissance Coliseum this season with the victory and matched the best start in program history through 11 matches at 9-2 also accomplished by the 1999 squad. The Braves opened the 1999 season with a 10-2 mark during a 20-6 campaign, which included a 14-4 record in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Haslag had a pair of kills during a 6-0 Bradley spurt midway through the first set to help the Braves build an 18-10 advantage. Pranger, who matched Haslag with five kills in the opening frame, accounted for three of BU's final four points in the first set with three kills as Bradley claimed the opener 25-17.

The Braves hit .364 in the second set and used another 6-0 run midway through the stanza to take control. With Bradley trailing 11-10, Haslag followed an Omaha service error with back-to-back kills and Pranger added back-to-back kills of her own. Haslag teamed with Maggie Revell for a block as the Braves went in front 16-11. The Mavericks pulled within three points on a pair of occasions, but an Emma Raleigh ace would later give Bradley set point at 24-17 in an eventual 25-20 win for the Braves.

Bradley appeared poised to sweep Omaha after building a 19-15 lead in the third set, only to have the Mavericks rally. Isabella Sade keyed a 6-1 Omaha run with consecutive aces and Sadie Limback added a kill, ace and block as the Mavericks grabbed a 21-20 advantage. The Braves would take 22-21 and 23-22 leads on Haslag kills, but Omaha answered with an Anna Blascko kill and held set point at 24-23 on a BU error. Haslag knotted things at 24-24 with her seventh kill of the set. Kills by Sade and Abby Bergsten helped Omaha to a 26-24 win as the Mavericks avoided the sweep.

In the fourth set, The Braves battled back from as many as six down (14-8) to pull even at 20-20. Haslag found the floor with three kills, while Pranger had two kills, an ace and a block to help fuel BU's rally attempt. A Bradley service error broke a 20-20 tie and Limback gave the Mavericks a 22-20 lead with a kill. Limback later gave Omaha set point at 24-22 and she combined with Blaschko for a block as the Mavericks took the frame 25-22 to force a deciding fifth set.

Bradley had to take an early timeout in the fifth after Omaha jumped out to 5-2 advantage. Haslag sandwiched kills around an Omaha error to pull the Braves even at 5-5 and Pranger added a kill of her own to put BU in front 6-5. With the score tied at 8-8, Pranger collected her fourth kill of the set and 19th of the night to put Bradley in front. Thompson added a kill of her own to make the score 10-8 in Bradley's favor.

The Braves led 12-9 after another Thompson kill forced Omaha to take its final timeout of the contest. Haslag, who had six kills in the fifth, gave Bradley a 13-9 edge with a kill and the Braves held match point at 14-10 after Haslag's final kill of the evening. A Raleigh ace gave Bradley a 15-10 win as the Braves earned their first five-set victory of the season.

Junior setter Hannah Angeli added her fourth double-double of the year with 52 assists and 13 digs to help lead Bradley. Senior Yavianliz Rosado nearly had a double-double of her own, collecting eight assists and match-high 29 digs.

Earlier in the afternoon, Milwaukee swept Eastern Illinois 25-19, 25-18, 25-23 for the first win of the season for the Panthers.
The Braves are 2-0 in tournament play heading into Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup with Milwaukee to close the CEFCU Classic. Milwaukee and Omaha are both 1-1, while Eastern Illinois is 0-2 going into Saturday's 11 a.m. contest against Omaha.

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