Loyola LUC 14-6, 7-1 MVC

Bradley BRAD 9-10, 5-3 MVC

Loyola LUC

14-6, 7-1 MVC

Final

Oct. 16, 2021

Bradley BRAD

9-10, 5-3 MVC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Loyola LUC	21	25	28	19	15	(3)
Bradley BRAD	25	19	26	25	11	(2)

Box Score

Evan Temchin

League-Leading Loyola Edges Braves In Five

Box Score

Game Recap: Volleyball | 10/16/2021 8:31:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball gave league-leading Loyola all could handle; thanks in part to a season-high 19 kills and 20 digs from senior Hannah Thompson, but the Ramblers edged the Braves in five sets 21-25, 25-19, 28-26, 19-25, 15-11 Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum.

Thompson broke the Bradley career double-doubles record with the 70th of her career, finishing with a season-best 19 kills to go with 20 digs as she nearly posted the first 20-kill/20-dig effort for the Braves since Erica Haslag on Sept. 2, 2017.

Junior Karagan Coggin hit .391, while collecting 11 kills and four blocks to help lead Bradley (9-10 overall, 5-3 MVC), which also received a season-best 10 kills from freshman Kaylenn Hunt. Junior Serena Sparks notched a match-high 22 digs to help pace the Bradley defense.

Bradley entered the contest with a chance to move into a tie with Loyola (14-6 overall, 7-1 MVC) atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings, but the Braves slipped back into a tie for second in the league standings with the setback.

In the opening set, Bradley hit .353 and used a late push to take the frame 25-21. Junior Raeann Bergman, who finished the night with eight kills and six blocks, keyed a four-point BU spurt with a pair of kills and a block that saw the Braves build an 18-13 advantage. Loyola managed to pull back within one at 21-20, before a 4-1 push by Bradley closed out the set. Coggin got things started with a kill and the Braves later held set point at 24-21 on a kill by Hunt. Bergman and Hunt combined for a block to close out the 25-21 BU victory.

Loyola answered by hitting .394 in the second set and won the stanza 25-19 to even up the match. The Ramblers led from wire-to-wire in the second, jumping out to an early 6-1 lead to start the frame. Bradley clawed back to within two at 11-9, but Loyola would eventually regain control with a six-point push that saw the lead balloon to 18-10 as the Ramblers went on to take the set.

Both squads had chances to claim the third set, with Loyola rallying from as many as five down (6-1) to hold set point at 24-22. Thompson, who had six kills and six digs in the third, put the Ramblers' celebration on hold with a kill and a Loyola error knotted the score at 24-24. The Ramblers had set point again at 25-24 on a BU error, only to have freshman Silan Demirkol answer with a kill to tie it up again at 25-25. The Braves held set point of their own at 26-25 following a Rambler error, before Loyola rattled off three straight points to take the third 28-26. The score was tied once again at 26-26 after a Kelsey Watson kill and Taylor Venuto had a block and kill to close the set for the Ramblers.

The fourth set went back and forth with 12 ties and six lead changes before a late Bradley surge sent the contest to a deciding fifth set. Loyola led 18-17 after a Karlie McNabb kill, when a 6-0 BU run put the Braves in control. Sophomore Abby Johnson sparked the spurt with a kill and back-to-back Rambler errors put BU ahead 20-18. Senior Kora Kauling had a kill and Coggin added her fourth block solo of the weekend to force another Loyola timeout with Bradley leading 22-18. A Demirkol kill out of the timeout made it 23-18 in favor of the Braves. With Bradley leading 23-19, a Coggin kill gave BU set point at 24-19 before another kill from Thompson capped the 25-19 win that forced a deciding frame.

In the fifth, Thompson pulled Bradley even at 4-4 with one of her match-high 19 kills. Loyola scored the next four points, however, to build an 8-4 edge. The Braves were able to cut the Rambler lead to two at 9-7 and again at 10-8, only to have Loyola answer each time. The Ramblers forced six Bradley errors in the fifth and took the final set 15-11.

Four Loyola players finished in double figures in kills, with Emily Banitt and Venuto each collecting 15 kills to tie for team-high honors.

Bradley continues a season-long, five-match homestand Monday with a 7 p.m. contest against I-74 rival Illinois State at Renaissance Coliseum.

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