PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball improved to 4-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play and pushed its win streak to eight consecutive matches with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 sweep of Evansville Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum, behind a team-best 12 kills from senior Erica Haslag and team-high eighth double-double of the year from freshman Hannah Thompson.
Undefeated at home with a perfect 8-0 record after the win, Bradley is 14-2 overall on the season for the team's most victories in a season since closing the 2005 season with a 16-17 mark. The eight-match win streak also matches the longest win streak for the Braves since an eight-match streak in that same 2005 campaign. The 2005 season (6-0) was also the last time Bradley opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 4-0 record.
Bradley made quick work of Evansville (6-12 overall, 0-5 MVC) in the first set holding the Purple Aces to a .194 attack percentage, while the Braves hit at a .351 clip in a 25-20 win. Haslag pounded home six kills on just eight swings in the opener and fellow senior Yavianliz Rosado notched 11 of her team-best 17 digs in the first frame. Bradley led by as many as eight points (15-7), only to have Evansville pull within two at 22-20 on a Kerra Cornist kill. Haslag followed an Aces service error with her sixth kill of the set to give the Braves set point (24-20) and a Hannah Angeli ace gave BU the opener 25-20.
Thompson notched five kills and six digs to highlight another 25-20 Bradley victory in the second set, helping the Braves hit .333 in the stanza. With BU leading 22-17, freshman Rachel Pranger notched a kill to push the Bradley advantage to six (23-17) and a Thompson kill gave the Braves set point at 24-17. Evansville fought off three set points, but another Thompson kill after a BU timeout closed out the 25-20 Bradley win.
The Braves had to battle from behind in the third after the Purple Aces jumped out to an 8-1 lead. Bradley chipped away at the UE lead, forcing three consecutive Evansville errors after a Thompson kill to pull within three at 8-5. The Aces were able to extend the lead to as many as six (14-8) before Bradley would make its push.
With Evansville hanging on to a 16-11 advantage, juniors Kat Poore and Maggie Revell came up with back-to-back kills. Thompson added another kill as Bradley pulled within two at 16-14. Revell, who had five kills on her first five swings of the third set, followed an Evansville point with back-to-back kills of her own and an Evansville error knotted things up at 17-17.
UE was back in front 18-17 when Revell sparked a 4-0 BU spurt with a pair of blocks as the Braves took a 21-18 lead. The Purple Aces answered to pull even at 21-21 and again at 22-22, only to have the Bradley defense help put things away. Graf combined for back-to-back blocks with Angeli and Haslag as the Braves held match point at 24-22. A Mildrelis Rodriguez attack was off the mark for the next point, giving Bradley a 25-22 win to complete the sweep. Revell collected five kills on seven attacks and two blocks in the third set.
Haslag finished a team-best 12 kills to pace Bradley in the victory, while Thompson hit at a .304 clip and finished 11 kills (zero errors) and 13 digs for her team-best eighth double-double of the season. Rosado led BU's defensive efforts with 17 digs, while senior Abby Ihrke added 13 digs to become the 16th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs.
Rachel Tam tallied 21 of Evansville's 35 kills on the night, including 12 kills in the third set.
Bradley hits the road next weekend, opening a two-match MVC road swing Friday with a 7 p.m. match at Drake.
