CHICAGO, Ill. – Bradley Volleyball picked up its seventh consecutive Missouri Valley Conference victory in dramatic fashion with the Braves pulling within a half game of league-leading Loyola with a 25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 15-25, 15-13 victory on the road over the Ramblers Friday at Gentile Arena.
Looking to avenge a five-set home loss to Loyola (19-8 overall, 12-3 MVC) earlier in the season, Bradley (16-11 overall, 12-4 MVC) entered the contest one-and-a-half games behind the Ramblers in a tie with I-74 rival Illinois State for second in the Valley standings. The BU win coupled with an Illinois State victory at Valparaiso moved both the Braves and Redbirds within a half game of Loyola.
Bradley has now won seven straight contests for the longest single-season conference win streak in program history. Overall, it's Bradley's longest win streak since an eight-game streak in 2018 that included four non-conference contests. Loyola suffered its first home loss of the season as the Braves snapped a 10-match win streak for the Ramblers at Gentile Arena.
Freshman Kaylenn Hunt finished with a season and team-best 16 kills to pace the Braves as she had just her second outing of the year with at least 10 kills. Hunt had 10 kills in the first meeting with Loyola back in mid-October.
Senior Hannah Thompson added a double-double, with 15 kills and 10 digs, while junior Serena Sparks tied for match-high honors with 21 digs as Bradley pushed its road win streak to four straight matches.
After taking two of the first three sets, Bradley found itself trailing 12-10 in the deciding fifth set. A Loyola error pulled the Braves within one and sparked a 4-0 run that would give BU match point. Junior Karagan Coggin was held to three kills through the first four sets, but had three kills on three swings in the fifth and tied the score at 12-12 in the fifth with a kill. Another Rambler error put Bradley in front and Coggin's sixth kill of the evening made it 14-12 in favor of BU. Addie Barnes kept Loyola alive with a kill, but Hunt's 16th kill of the night gave the Braves the fifth set 15-13.
Hunt got things started for Bradley with seven of her 16 kills in the opening set to highlight a 25-21 BU win. Alivia West, who made her first appearance as a Brave after sitting out the first 26 matches of the season, helped highlight an early 8-0 run by the Braves with a block and kill that saw Bradley jump out to a 12-3 advantage. Loyola managed to get back even at 16-16 before Thompson and Hunt put things out of reach. Thompson had a pair of kills during a 4-0 Bradley spurt that gave the Braves a 21-17 edge and Hunt had BU's final four points of the set all on kills, closing out the 25-21 victory with back-to-back kills.
Both teams strung together long runs in the second set with Loyola building a 23-17 lead with five straight points. Bradley answered with four consecutive points of its own, with Hunt collecting a block and kill during the spurt that trimmed the Rambler lead to 23-21. The Braves fought off a pair of Loyola set points with a block by Hunt and Karagan Coggin pulling Bradley within one at 24-23. Barnes, who had a match-high 19 kills in the match, capped a 25-23 Loyola win with a kill, however, as the Ramblers pulled even in the match.
In the third set, Bradley grabbed 12-10 lead with a 4-0 spurt that included a pair of blocks from West. Loyola stayed within striking distance and eventually pulled even at 17-17. Junior Carlee Camlin followed a Rambler service error with one of Bradley's nine aces on the night to make it a two-point cushion (19-17). With the Braves holding a 21-19 edge, Maddie Peterson chased a Thompson kill with an ace and a Kora Kauling kill gave BU set point at 24-19. After a Loyola sideout, Thompson found the floor with another kill as the Braves took the set 25-20.
Loyola notched seven of its 16 blocks in the fourth set and used a late push to force a deciding fifth set. Bradley trailed 16-13 when the Ramblers broke things open with three straight points. A Thompson kill and Loyola error made it 19-15 in favor of the Ramblers before Loyola rattled off six straight to win the fourth set 25-15.
Kauling had another solid outing for the Braves, finishing with six kills, 38 assists, three aces and seven digs. Limited to four matches since the start of October, fellow senior Rachel Pranger added six kills and digs of her own to help highlight the victory. In her Bradley debut, West finished with five kills and a team-best five blocks.
Bradley returns to action Saturday, continuing a three-match road swing with a 6 p.m. contest at fourth-place Valparaiso.
