Northern Illinois NIU 3-11

Bradley BRAD 4-7

Northern Illinois NIU

3-11

Final

Sep. 21, 2019

Bradley BRAD

4-7

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Northern Illinois NIU	17	20	13	(0)
Bradley BRAD	25	25	25	(3)

Box Score

Josh Schwam

Braves Sweep Northern Illinois

Box Score

Game Recap: Volleyball | 9/21/2019 4:15:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball wrapped up the non-conference portion of the schedule with a convincing 25-17, 25-20, 25-13 sweep of in-state foe Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon to conclude the CEFCU Classic.

Sophomore Hannah Thompson turned in her ninth consecutive double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs in the three-set contest, while hitting a .462 clip. Fellow sophomore Rachel Pranger finished with a match-high 14 kills to pace the Braves (4-7 overall), who picked up their first win over Northern Illinois (3-11 overall) since 2004.

The fifth largest crowd in Renaissance Coliseum history (1,122) was on hand to witness Bradley's first three-set victory in the series with the Huskies.

The Braves controlled the match from the outset, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first set. Northern Illinois pulled even with Bradley at 13-13, but a block by Thompson and freshman Raeann Bergman broke the tie and back-to-back Pranger kills later capped a 4-0 BU spurt which gave the Braves a 17-13 advantage. Pranger would go on to collect seven kills with no errors on 11 swings in the opener and Thompson added five kills (no errors) on 11 attacks as Bradley hit .474 in the frame in a 25-17 opening-set win.

Northern Illinois jumped out to the early lead in the second set, scoring the first five points of the stanza and the Huskies led 6-1. Pranger, who had six second-set kills, capped a 4-0 Bradley run with back-to-back kills as the Braves led 12-11. With the score knotted at 19-19, Bradley would use another 4-0 spurt to take control. Pranger once again had back-to-back kills to start the streak and freshman Karagan Coggin followed with a kill and block to give the Braves a 23-19 advantage. Pranger teamed with Coggin for a block to give Bradley set point at 24-20 and then added an ace as the Braves took the second set 25-20.

In the third, NIU held an early 3-2 lead only to have Bradley rattle off the next nine points to start what turned out to be a 15-1 run. After consecutive Huskie errors to start the decisive spurt, Bergman found the floor with a kill. Thompson collected all four of her third-set kills during the 15-1 run which included seven NIU errors, kills by Bergman and junior Sara Maddox, along with a block by Bergman and sophomore Kat Poore. The Braves hit .400 in the third set, completing the sweep with a convincing 25-13 victory.

Bradley hit a season-best .390 in the match for the team's best hitting percentage in a match since last September (vs. Mississippi Valley State) and BU's best hitting percentage in a match played at Renaissance Coliseum in the 10-year history of the building. In fact, the last time the Braves hit .390 or better in a home contest was Aug. 28, 2009 against Chicago State (.395) in a match played at the Markin Family Recreation Center.

Bradley will open Missouri Valley Conference play at home, continuing a season-long, four-match home stand Friday with a 6 p.m. match against Southern Illinois at Renaissance Coliseum.

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