ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Senior Kora Kauling was named the Missouri Valley Conference Setter of the Year and was one of a trio of Braves to earn First-Team All-MVC honors with senior Hannah Thompson and junior Karagan Coggin joining her on the list according to an announcement by the league office Thursday morning.
Kauling, who is a repeat First-Team All-Valley pick, is the first player in program history to take home MVC Setter of the Year honors since the award debuted in 2014. Thompson joins Lindsay Stalzer (2002-05) as the only three-time First-Team All-MVC selection in program history, while Coggin earned first-team honors after she was a second-team honoree last year as a sophomore.
The three first-team all-league picks were the most in school history, in addition to matching Illinois State for the most in the MVC this season. Bradley had previously had as many as two First-Team All-Valley performers six times, including two of the last three seasons (2020-21 & 2018).
Kauling is the ninth two-time First-Team All-MVC pick in program history, with the Wichita State transfer earning the honor both of her seasons on The Hilltop. This fall, she ranks fifth in the Valley in assists per set and her 7.19 assists-per-set average in league games ranked fourth in the conference. Kauling posted nine of her 11 double-doubles in Valley play and served up 24 of her 26 aces against conference opponents as she is on pace to become the first Valley player to average 1.5 kills per set, 7.00 assists per set and collect 25 or more aces since Creighton's Megan Bober in 2012.
Ranking sixth in Bradley history in career assists per set (8.22), Kauling posted the first triple-double at Bradley since 2003 earlier this year. She added a second triple-double in the final home match of 2021 to join Samantha Hardwick as the lone individuals in program history to have multiple triple-doubles in the same season. In addition, Kauling joins Hardwick (2000 & 2001) as the only setters in school history to earn First-Team All-MVC recognition.
Thompson takes home all-conference honors for the fourth consecutive year (Second-Team All-MVC as a freshman) and is now the 36th three-time First-Team All-Valley pick in league history. The only player to rank in the top 10 in the MVC in kills per set (9th - 3.00) and digs per set (8th - 3.73) this year, Thompson is one of two players in the nation in 2021 with 340 kills and 425 or more digs.
Breaking Bradley's career digs record in the season opener, Thompson currently ranks 18th in MVC history with 1,843 career digs. Offensively, she ranks sixth all-time at Bradley with 1,349 career kills and holds the Bradley career double-doubles record with 76. Thompson is just third player in MVC history with 1,300 career kills and 1,800 or more digs and is the first player in the nation to reach both marks since 2003. Owning 84 career outings with 10 more kills, Thompson has paced the Braves in kills 16 times this fall and has notched 10 or more digs in 99 of her 111 career outings at Bradley.
Coggin led the MVC and broke the Bradley season record for attack percentage in conference-only matches with a league-best .345 hitting percentage. She helped key BU's single-season record conference win streak of seven matches by hitting .412 and averaging 2.50 kills per set during that span.
Overall, Coggin is hitting a team-best .308 on the year, which would be the best season attack percentage by a Brave since 2016 and ranks seventh among Bradley season marks. She had 10 or more kills in 13 outings, including 10 times in Valley action. Coggin's career hitting percentage would rank second in Bradley history and she is the first Brave 17 or more block solos in consecutive seasons since 2002 and 2003.
Bradley is in action tonight, facing #6 seed Indiana State in the opening round of the MVC Tournament. First serve between the Braves and Sycamores is slated for 6 p.m. at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill.
