Bradley BRAD 3-6

Murray State MUR 5-4

Bradley BRAD

3-6

Final

Sep. 14, 2019

Murray State MUR

5-4

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Bradley BRAD	21	25	26	21	13	(2)
Murray State MUR	25	18	24	25	15	(3)

Box Score

Duane Zehr

Braves Fall In Five To Murray State

Box Score

Game Recap: Volleyball | 9/14/2019 7:11:00 PM

CHICAGO, Ill. – Sophomore Rachel Pranger collected a season-high 18 kills and career-best 30 digs, while sophomore Hannah Thompson had a double-double of her own with 15 kills and season-high 26 digs, but Murray State rallied to take the final two sets and top Bradley Volleyball 25-21, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-13 on the final day of the UIC Invitational.

Pranger's 30 digs were the most by a Brave other than a libero since Briony Hammet had a then Bradley single-match record 38 digs at Evansville on Oct. 22, 2005 and she had the most kills in a 30-dig performance in Bradley history dating back to a Sept. 29, 1990 contest against Valparaiso when Blythe Zajakowski had 21 kills and 30 digs.

Thompson posted her seventh consecutive double-double, finishing with 15 kills and a season-best 26 digs as she finished three digs short of matching her career-high. Sophomore Kat Poore turned in her first career double-double as well with a career-high 10 kills and 11 digs to go with five blocks.

Murray State (5-4 overall) led from start to finish in the first set, using a 6-1 run midway through to push a four-point lead to 17-8. Rachel Giustino, who had a match-high 31 kills in the match, highlighted the opening set with seven kills to help power the Racers to a 25-21 win.

In the second set, Bradley used a 5-0 spurt to take control. With the Braves leading 17-15, Pranger sparked the 5-0 run with a kill and Poore followed with back-to-back kills of her own. Poore, who had five kills on eight swings and three blocks in the second, capped the run with consecutive blocks to help Bradley extend the advantage to 22-15. Pranger sealed a 25-18 BU win with her fourth kill of the set and eighth of the day.

The Braves took a 2-1 lead in the match after pulling out a 26-24 third-set win. Neither team led by more than three in a third set which had 12 ties and eight lead changes. Bradley had to rally late, however, with Murray State holding set point at 24-23 after a BU service error. A Murray State service error tied things up at 24-24 and back-to-back attack errors from the Racers gave the Braves the set 26-24.

Murray State jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth and Bradley faced as big of a deficit as seven before rallying. Pranger had three consecutive kills during a 6-1 Bradley run to help the Braves pull even at 13-13. The Braves eventually took an 18-17 lead on a Poore kill and the score was later knotted at 21-21 following a Hannah Angeli kill. Murray State rattled off the final four points of the set, however, to claim the fourth 25-21 and force a deciding fifth set.

In the fifth, Pranger had a pair of kills during an early 6-0 Bradley run which put the Braves in front 6-1. Murray State chipped away at the lead and eventually grabbed a 10-9 advantage. Thompson snapped a 3-0 Murray State run with a kill and a Racer error and Serena Sparks ace gave the Braves a 12-10 lead. The Braves held a 13-12 lead after Poore's 10^th kill of the afternoon, but the lead was short lived. Rachel Holthaus tied it up for Murray State with a kill and Giustino gave the Racers match point at 14-13 with her 31^st kill of the day. A Bradley error sealed the 15-13 fifth-set victory for Murray State.

Pranger earned a spot on the UIC Invitational All-Tournament team after averaging 2.92 kills and 4.23 digs per set in the three matches.

Bradley returns to Renaissance Coliseum next week, hosting the CEFCU Classic Friday and Saturday. South Dakota and Northern Illinois open the tournament Friday with a noon match, while the Braves will face South Dakota Friday night at 7 p.m.

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