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2
Northern Iowa UNI 7-12, 7-8 MVC
3
Winner Bradley BRAD 12-5, 12-5 MVC
Northern Iowa UNI
7-12, 7-8 MVC
2
Final
3
Bradley BRAD
12-5, 12-5 MVC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Northern Iowa UNI 22 19 25 25 14 (2)
Bradley BRAD 25 25 21 19 16 (3)
Celebration

Volleyball Tops UNI In Five

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Game Recap: Volleyball |
PEORIA, Ill. – Playing its first five-set match of the season, Bradley Volleyball picked up its first win against perennial Missouri Valley Conference power Northern Iowa since 2005 with the Braves pulling out a 25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 19-25, 16-14 victory over the Panthers Saturday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum
 
Bradley (12-5 overall), which picked up its 11th win in its last 13 outings, moved into second place in the MVC standings with one day remaining in the regular season.  Saturday's victory snapped a 29-match losing streak in the series with Northern Iowa (7-12 overall, 7-8 MVC) dating back to a three-set win at Robertson Memorial Field House on Sept. 30, 2005.  In addition, the Braves stayed perfect at home on the year (8-0) and have won 10 consecutive contests at Renaissance Coliseum dating back to late in the 2019 season.
 
Freshman Abby Johnson had kills on each of her first five swings of the day and finished with a team-best 18 kills while hitting at a .342 clip.  Sophomore Karagan Coggin celebrated her birthday on Saturday by tallying 13 kills and four blocks.  Juniors Hannah Thompson (10 kills & 18 digs) and Kora Kauling (47 assists & 12 digs) each added double-doubles for the Braves, while Serena Sparks led the Bradley defensive efforts with a match-high 29 digs.
 
Bradley was in control early on, taking each of the first two sets.  Trailing 17-16 in the first, the Braves used a 5-0 run to go in front.  Kauling started the spurt with a kill and Thompson followed back-to-back UNI errors with back-to-back kills to give Bradley a 21-18 edge.  Northern Iowa pulled to within one several times down the stretch with the last coming at 23-22 before Johnson's fourth kill of the set gave BU set point at 24-22.  Coggin put the finishing touches on a 25-22 BU win with her fourth kill of the set on the next point. 
 
Just like the first set, Bradley forced nine UNI errors in the second and the Braves never trailed in the frame.  Thompson and freshman Doga Topcicek helped BU blow open a one-point contest with a 5-0 run midway through.  With Bradley leading 13-12, Coggin sparked the run with a kill and Thompson sandwiched kills around back-to-back Topcicek aces that put the Braves comfortably ahead 18-12.  Northern Iowa got no closer than four down the stretch as Bradley cruised to the 25-19 second-set win.
 
Bradley, which entered the match with a 44-1 record under head coach Carol Price-Torok when taking the first two sets of matches, found itself in a four-point hole (16-12) midway through the third.  Topcicek had a pair of kills and Coggin added a kill and block to highlight a 5-1 BU run that knotted things at 17-17.  Northern Iowa's Kaylissa Arndorfer had a pair of kills during a 3-1 spurt, however, that put the Panthers back ahead 20-18.  Arndorfer and Inga Rotto combined for 13 kills in the third set as the pair helped UNI force a fourth set with a 25-21 victory.  Topcicek had three kills and 10 digs for the Braves in the third. 
 
Northern Iowa trailed 12-10 in the fourth, when a 9-0 Panther run put UNI in control.  Carly Spies had three kills during the spurt and Rotto had two kills and a block as Northern Iowa built a 19-12 advantage.  Bradley managed to trim the deficit to three (21-18), but a block pushed the cushion back to four (22-18) and the Panthers went on to take the set 25-19 as the Braves went to a deciding fifth set for the first time this season.
 
Bradley used its first timeout of the fifth set after Northern Iowa took a 6-4 lead on a BU error.  The Braves eventually pulled even on a big block from Johnson and sophomore Raeann Bergman to tie it up at 8-8.  Johnson followed a UNI timeout with a kill to put the Braves in front 9-8.  Bradley would later hold match point at 14-12 on Coggin's fourth kill of the set, only to have UNI answer with consecutive points.  Rotto had a kill to and teamed with Megan Witte for a block to once again knot the score at 14-14.  Bradley held match point again (15-14) after a Panther attack error and an ace from freshman Maddie Peterson capped the 16-14 win for the Braves.
 
The Braves sit in second in the Valley standings at 12-5 (.706) behind I-74 rival Illinois State, which is 10-3 (.769) after a three-set road win at Southern Illinois Saturday.  Bradley would need a win in the series finale against Northern Iowa Sunday at 3 p.m. at Renaissance Coliseum coupled with a Redbird loss at Southern Illinois tomorrow to claim the MVC regular-season title.  The Braves are assured of at least the #4 seed for next week's MVC Tournament in Normal, Ill., and can guarantee the #2 seed or better with a win Sunday against Northern Iowa. 
 
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Players Mentioned

Raeann Bergman

#20 Raeann Bergman

MB
6' 4"
Sophomore
Karagan Coggin

#3 Karagan Coggin

RS/MB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Serena Sparks

#1 Serena Sparks

L/DS
5' 2"
Sophomore
Hannah Thompson

#6 Hannah Thompson

OH
5' 8"
Junior
Kora Kauling

#4 Kora Kauling

S
6' 2"
Junior
Maddie Peterson

#7 Maddie Peterson

DS/L
5' 3"
Freshman
Doga Topcicek

#17 Doga Topcicek

OH
5' 11"
Freshman
Abby Johnson

#9 Abby Johnson

MB
6' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Raeann Bergman

#20 Raeann Bergman

6' 4"
Sophomore
MB
Karagan Coggin

#3 Karagan Coggin

6' 2"
Sophomore
RS/MB
Serena Sparks

#1 Serena Sparks

5' 2"
Sophomore
L/DS
Hannah Thompson

#6 Hannah Thompson

5' 8"
Junior
OH
Kora Kauling

#4 Kora Kauling

6' 2"
Junior
S
Maddie Peterson

#7 Maddie Peterson

5' 3"
Freshman
DS/L
Doga Topcicek

#17 Doga Topcicek

5' 11"
Freshman
OH
Abby Johnson

#9 Abby Johnson

6' 5"
Freshman
MB