Volleyball Set For Weekend Home Stand

Josh Schwam

Volleyball 10/17/2019 2:00:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Tied for third in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, Bradley Volleyball returns to Renaissance Coliseum for a big weekend home stand with the Braves hosting Valparaiso Friday (6 p.m.) and league-leading Loyola Saturday (5 p.m.).

Bradley (8-9 overall, 4-2 MVC) picked up a big four-set win at Drake Saturday to hold on to a share of third in the league standings as the Braves near the midway point of the MVC schedule. Valparaiso (8-12 overall, 3-3 MVC) sits just one game behind Bradley in a tie for fifth in the Valley standings and the Crusaders bring a three-match win streak into Friday's 6 p.m. contest.

Loyola (13-6 overall, 6-0 MVC) is the only undefeated team in conference action heading into a Friday night match at Illinois State. The Ramblers have won 10 of their last 11 going into the Friday-night tilt in Normal, Ill.

Friday will mark Bradley's Breast Cancer Awareness Night with the first 300 fans receiving free pink wristbands and breast cancer survivors will be recognized during the match.

The Braves will host a free post-game youth clinic following Saturday's 5 p.m. match against Loyola open to all children ages 6-14. Saturday is also Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night with Bradley Faculty & Staff receiving two free tickets with their Bradley ID.

Both weekend matches will be available on ESPN3 and BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats for both contests.

The Braves are in a similar position to last year's historic 2018 campaign in which BU started league play 4-2 before hosting Loyola and Valparaiso for a pair of mid-October home matches. Bradley has had back-to-back 4-2 starts to Valley play for the first time since 2003 (4-2) and 2002 (6-0).

Bradley pulled out a four-set win at Drake Saturday to improve to 2-1 on the road in Valley play. The Braves are now 4-1 in their last five league road games dating back to last season and own a 7-5 Valley road record over the last two seasons. The last time Bradley had at least seven MVC road wins over a two-year stretch was 2002 (5-4) and 2003 (3-6).

Bradley leads the nation in digs per set, now averaging 19.94 digs per set after collecting 126 digs in Saturday's four-set win at Drake. Junior Emma Raleigh helped anchor BU's defensive efforts with a Missouri Valley Conference single-match record 48 digs. Raleigh, who has taken over as the team's libero and averaged 5.69 digs per set in that role, broke the previous MVC match dig record of 46 set by Missouri State's Cara Hackmann vs. Evansville on Oct. 10, 2009. In fact, Raleigh's 48 digs were the most in the nation since 2016 and highest dig total in a four-set match in the country dating back to 2008. Raleigh was named MVC Defensive Player of the Week Monday after her historic performance.

Saturday's match between Bradley and Drake was another defensive struggle with the teams combining for 243 digs. The defensive effort should come as no surprise, however, with the Braves tallying 125 digs in last year's MVC Tournament matchup with the Bulldogs after 126 digs in the Nov. 3 home match between the squads. Bradley's 126 dig-effort Saturday is tied for the most in the nation this season (Oakland vs. Northern Kentucky). Bradley's 126 and 125 digs totals last year vs. Drake were the most in the country in 2018 with Bradley now posting three of the top four dig totals in the nation since the start of the 2018 (all three against the Bulldogs).

Sophomore Hannah Thompson has pushed her school record streak of consecutive double-doubles to 15 after tallying 16 kills and career-best 32 digs Saturday at Drake. Thompson, who is now tied for 10th in Bradley history with 35 career double-doubles, had the highest dig total in the MVC other than a libero since Missouri State's Lily Johnson had 32 digs vs. Drake on Oct. 13, 2017 and she had the most digs by a non-libero for the Braves dating back to 2005. Thompson also became the fifth player in Bradley history to reach 600 career kills as a sophomore in the outing with Drake.

The Braves will follow up the weekend home stand with a season-long four-match road swing which starts Friday, Oct. 25 at Missouri State.

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Players Mentioned

#34 Emma Raleigh: DS/L; 5' 8"; Junior

#6 Hannah Thompson: OH; 5' 8"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#34 Emma Raleigh
: 5' 8"; Junior
: DS/L

#6 Hannah Thompson
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: OH

Volleyball Set For Weekend Home Stand

Players Mentioned

#34 Emma Raleigh

#6 Hannah Thompson

Players Mentioned

#34 Emma Raleigh

#6 Hannah Thompson