Bradley University Athletics

Volleyball Set For Road Series At Drake

Evan Temchin

Volleyball 2/6/2021 7:22:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – After splitting the season-opening series with Illinois State, Bradley Volleyball faces another road test with the Braves venturing to Des Moines, Iowa, for a two-game series at Drake Sunday and Monday.

Bradley is 1-1 on the year, rebounding from a season-opening loss at I-74 rival Illinois State on Jan. 25 by sweeping the Redbirds in the rematch this past Monday. Drake (3-0 overall, 2-0 MVC) is tied with Missouri State for first in the league standings heading into the third week of the season, picking up a pair of victories against pre-season MVC favorite Northern Iowa to start Valley play.

The series starts Sunday with a 2 p.m. match at the Knapp Center with the squads concluding the annual series Monday at 5 p.m. Both contests will be available on ESPN+.

The Braves swept the regular-season series from the Bulldogs last year and Bradley has claimed three of the last four matchups in the series. Drake owns a 38-32 advantage in the all-time series, which includes a 20-13 edge in matches played in Des Moines.

The tallest player in program history at 6-5, freshman Abby Johnson has made her presence felt at the net early on this season. Johnson, who is tied for fourth in the Valley at 1.33 blocks per set, collected six blocks to go with five kills in Monday's three-set home win against Illinois State as she helped the Braves tally 11.0 blocks in the victory. She had three solo blocks in Monday's victory for the most solo blocks by a Brave since Erica Haslag had three at Indiana State on Sept. 16, 2016. Bradley has improved its blocks-per-set average each of the last three seasons and is currently tied for third in the MVC at 2.33 blocks per set this season.

Junior Hannah Thompson enters the weekend 16 kills short of 800 for her career and is just eight kills from climbing into the top 25 in career kills in school history. She also moved into 15^th in career digs in Bradley history with her 17-dig effort in the win against Illinois State Monday. Averaging a team-best 5.33 digs per set on the year, Thompson has 1,111 career digs and needs 18 digs to pass Stephanie Behrns for 14^th on the BU's all-time list. In five career outings against Drake, Thompson has averaged 4.50 digs per set.

The Braves follow up the series at Drake with a two-game home series against Indiana State Feb. 14 & 15 at Renaissance Coliseum.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Erica Haslag: OH; 5' 11"; Senior

#6 Hannah Thompson: OH; 5' 8"; Junior

#9 Abby Johnson: MB; 6' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Erica Haslag
: 5' 11"; Senior
: OH

#6 Hannah Thompson
: 5' 8"; Junior
: OH

#9 Abby Johnson
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: MB

Volleyball Set For Road Series At Drake

Players Mentioned

#3 Erica Haslag

#6 Hannah Thompson

#9 Abby Johnson

Players Mentioned

#3 Erica Haslag

#6 Hannah Thompson

#9 Abby Johnson