Bradley Volleyball Holds First Practice Of 2019

Wesley Winterink

Volleyball 8/10/2019 2:00:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Preparations for the 2019 Bradley Volleyball season jumped into full swing with the Braves holding the first official practice of the 2019 season Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum after the team reported back to campus Friday.

Fourth-year Bradley Volleyball head coach Carol Price-Torok, who was the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year after a historic season for the Braves, has a solid nucleus returning from last year's team which was the first post-season squad in program history.

The 2018 season included a school record 14 home victories (14-1), highlighted by a sweep of MVC regular-season co-champion Illinois State, a first-round NIVC victory against MAC East Division co-champion Bowling Green and a 24-9 overall record for the most victories since 2001.

Overall, Bradley returns four starters and a total of 10 letterwinners from last year's team which tied for the second largest win improvement in the country (+14). While the Braves welcome just four freshmen this fall, youth dominates the 2019 roster with Bradley boasting just five upperclassmen (three seniors & two juniors). Despite the young roster, Bradley returns over 60 percent of the team's kills from last year in addition to boasting more than two-thirds of last year's assists (87%), aces and blocks. Overall, the Braves return three of the top four and eight of the top 10 in total kills from 2018.

Bradley ranked among the top defensive teams in the nation in 2018, closing the season second nationally in digs per set and the Braves were 36th in the country in opponent hitting percentage. Pekin, Ill., native Hannah Thompson, who was the 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year and a Second-Team All-MVC pick, returns after she posted 20 double-doubles during a rookie campaign in which she broke the Bradley freshman records for both kills and digs. Thompson was one of two players in the nation to tally at least 380 kills and 525 or more digs, with her season dig total of 528 ranking seventh among Bradley season totals along with marking the highest dig total by a Brave other than a libero since 1985.

Thompson had a busy offseason, taking part in USA Volleyball tryouts in February along with traveling to Croatia this summer where she helped Team BIP to the championship match of the 2019 Global Challenge.

Senior setter Hannah Angeli returns after ranking 38th in the country in total assists last year. A two-year starter, Angeli is the only player in Bradley history to have two seasons with 1,200 or more assists with her 1,262 assists from last year ranking ninth among BU season marks. Angeli heads into her final season on The Hilltop 530 assists short of becoming the fourth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists and will try to join Bradley Hall of Fame member Samantha Hardwick as the only Braves with 3,000 assists and 1,000 or more digs.

Bradley will host Milwaukee in an exhibition contest, Wednesday, August 21 (4 p.m.), before heading to Dallas, Texas, for the Doubletree Invitational Aug. 30 & 31. The Braves face tournament-host SMU Friday, Aug. 30 in the season opener in addition to taking on Stephen F. Austin and Texas-San Antonio in the season-opening tournament.

Bradley Volleyball season tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for children (ages 14 and under). For more information or to purchase tickets contact the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office (BradleyTicketOffice@bradley.edu) at (309) 677-2625.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Hannah Angeli: S; 6' 0"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

#9 Hannah Angeli
: 6' 0"; Senior
: S

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

Bradley Volleyball Holds First Practice Of 2019

Players Mentioned

#9 Hannah Angeli

#6 Hannah Thompson

Players Mentioned

#9 Hannah Angeli

#6 Hannah Thompson