Bradley BRAD 11-4,11-4 MVC

Missouri St. MSU 12-6,8-5 MVC

Bradley BRAD

11-4,11-4 MVC

Final

Mar. 21, 2021

Missouri St. MSU

12-6,8-5 MVC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Bradley BRAD	25	25	25	(3)
Missouri St. MSU	17	21	16	(0)

Box Score

Josh Schwam

Braves Sweep Missouri State for First Time Since 1999

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Volleyball | 3/21/2021 4:34:00 PM

Springfield, Mo. – In a battle of two of the top three schools in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bradley volleyball team swept Missouri State on the road, 25-17, 25-21, 25-16, on Sunday afternoon. The Braves have now won four-straight matches – and 10-of-11 – to improve to 11-4 on the season, while the Bears drop to 8-5 in conference play.

The three-set win for Bradley is its first against Missouri State since 1999 and just the second in school history in Springfield. Overall, Bradley has won three-straight three-set matches in conference play for the first time since 2003 and has won its last 12 sets overall.

Junior Hannah Thompson led a strong Bradley attack in the winning effort – totaling 14 kills on just 27 swings with one error for an attacking percentage of .481. She was one of three Braves to attack at a .400 percentage or higher as the Braves hit at a .293 clip for the match – the team's second-best performance of the season and its second-best percentage against Missouri State in the 68-game series.

Sophomore Raeann Bergman landed seven kills on 13 attempts (.462 attacking percentage) and classmate Karagan Coggin tallied eight kills on 15 swings (.400 percentage). Freshman Abby Johnson also added eight kills for BU with a .353 attacking percentage.

Junior Kora Kauling paced the Bradley attack with 36 assists in the victory.

Defensively, sophomore libero Serena Sparks led BU with 14 digs, while Thompson recorded 13 for her 12th double-double of the season in 15 matches. Bradley also won the battle at the net, eight blocks to Missouri State's three, with Bergman leading BU with four total rejections.

The Braves won the opening set with a dominating finish. Trailing, 16-15, BU finished with a 10-1 run to take the early advantage. The Braves scored nine-straight points with Thompson finishing four of the points before Missouri State finally ended the run, 24-17. However, BU forced an attacking error on the next play for the 25-17 opening-set victory.

An early 6-1 run then put the Braves in front of the Bears, 10-7, in set two. Bradley led by as many as five points before Missouri State pulled within one, 20-19. BU responded with three-straight points of its own and then finished the set with a kill from Thompson for the 2-0 lead after a 25-21 set two victory.

The Braves then carried their momentum over into set three, racing to a 10-5 lead and never trailing in the set. Missouri State was only within three the remainder of the third before Bradley finished off the sweep with a 25-16 victory.

In addition to hitting .293 in the winning effort, the Braves held the Bears to a .125 attacking percentage as Missouri State lost for just the second time in 10 home matches this season.

The schools wrap up the two-game series in Springfield with a 5 p.m. first serve tomorrow afternoon.

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