ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- After a historic 2018 campaign in which Bradley Volleyball reached the postseason for the first time in program history, the Braves tied Missouri State for third in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll of the league coaches announced Wednesday morning.
In addition, 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-Valley selection Hannah Thompson was named a preseason all-conference pick after her record-setting freshman season.
Bradley received 68 points to match Missouri State's total and tie for third for the highest the Braves have appeared in the preseason poll since 2002 (3rd). Northern Iowa, which claimed a share of last year's regular-season title along with the MVC Tournament crown, was a unanimous pick and garnered all 10 first-place selections. Illinois State was second with 89 points, while Bradley and Missouri State followed in a tie for third at 68 points. Loyola followed in fifth at 56 points and Drake was sixth overall with 54 points.
One of the most improved teams in the nation in 2018, Bradley capped its first 20-win season since 2001 by reaching the second round of the NIVC last fall in the first postseason appearance in program history. BU's 14-win improvement in 2018 from the previous season tied for the second-largest in the country, while the Braves were 10 wins better in Valley play than in 2017 to match the largest single-season improvement in league history.
Overall, Bradley returns four starters and a total of 10 letterwinners from last year's team with returners accounting for over 60 percent of the team's kills in addition to boasting more than two-thirds of last year's assists (87%), aces and blocks. 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. Thompson posted 20 double-doubles during a rookie campaign in which she broke the Bradley freshman records for both kills and digs. She 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.
The Braves have five newcomers on the roster in 2019, with the recent addition of Washington State transfer Lida Kastanou (Athens, Greece) to the squad. Bradley's first international player since 2005, Kastanou did not appear in a match last fall at Washington State and will have three seasons of eligibility.
Youth dominates the 2019 Bradley roster, with four freshmen and six sophomores on a squad which features just two active seniors in two-year starter at setter Hannah Angeli and middle blocker Maggie Revell.
The Braves will play their only exhibition contest of the 2019 season later this afternoon, hosting Milwaukee in a 4 p.m. match at Renaissance Coliseum. Bradley opens the regular-season schedule against SMU in a 12:30 p.m. match on Friday, Aug. 30 to kick off the SMU Doubletree Invitational in Dallas, Texas.
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