Northern Iowa UNI 8-12, 8-8 MVC

Bradley BRAD 12-6, 12-6 MVC

Northern Iowa UNI

8-12, 8-8 MVC

Final

Mar. 28, 2021

Bradley BRAD

12-6, 12-6 MVC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Northern Iowa UNI	25	15	25	25	(3)
Bradley BRAD	19	25	22	15	(1)

Box Score

UNI Snaps Bradley Volleyball Home Win Streak

Box Score

Game Recap: Volleyball | 3/28/2021 6:19:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – Freshman Doga Topcicek had a season-best 13 kills and turned in her second double-double of the year, but Northern Iowa handed Bradley Volleyball its first and only home loss of the year; with the Panthers topping the Braves 25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15 Sunday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum to close out the regular season.

Bradley (12-6 overall, 12-6 MVC) entered the final match of the regular season second in the Missouri Valley Conference standings after Saturday's five-set win over Northern Iowa (8-12 overall, 8-8) snapped a 29-match losing streak in the series with the Panthers. Sunday's setback dropped the Braves to fourth in the final MVC standings.

UNI salvaged a series split with the Braves with the four-set win that ended Bradley's 10-match home win streak that dated back to late in the 2019 season. The Braves finished the season with an 8-1 home record for the second-best home mark in program history behind only the 14-1 record at Renaissance Coliseum during the 2018 campaign.

Topcicek paced Bradley offensively with her season-high 13 kills and also collected 21 digs for her second double-double of the year.

Junior Hannah Thompson, who became just the third player in program history to reach 1,400 career digs during Sunday's contest, had a team-best 22 digs and passed former teammate Yavianliz Rosado (1,402 digs) for second in Bradley history. Thompson now has 1,404 career digs and needs just 34 digs to break the Bradley career mark of 1,437 held by Rachelle Dejean (2008-11). In addition to her defensive efforts, Thompson had nine kills to pass Cindy Novak for 15^th in career kills at Bradley and is just 10 kills from reaching 1,000 for her career.

Northern Iowa forced nine Bradley errors in the 25-19 first-set win, jumping out a 7-1 lead to open the contest. The Braves didn't go quietly, however, eventually pulling even with the Panthers at 9-9 on a Topcicek kill. A 6-1 UNI run put the Panther in control, as Northern Iowa pushed what was a three-point cushion at 15-12 to eight (21-13). UNI went on to take the set 25-19.

Bradley answered with a solid second set, forcing eight UNI errors and allowing just seven kills as the Braves came up with 31 digs while limiting the Panthers to a -.019 hitting percentage in the set. Northern Iowa managed to hang with Bradley early in the set, with the Braves holding a 13-11 edge after a Carly Spies kill for UNI. Topcicek would help highlight a 9-1 Bradley run, sparking the spurt with back-to-back kills. Topcicek, who added an ace during the run, served BU's final five points of the spurt as the Braves built a commanding 21-12 advantage. Thompson, who had four kills and eight digs in the second, capped the 25-15 BU win with a kill.

The pivotal third set was the closest of the afternoon. Northern Iowa raced out to a 6-1 lead, only to have Bradley erase the early advantage. A 5-1 BU spurt that included three Topcicek kills gave the Braves a 14-12 lead and Bradley's lead was as many as three (20-17) in the late stages of the frame. Five straight Northern Iowa points put UNI back in front 22-20, before a Panther error and Carlee Camlin ace knotted the score again at 22-22. Spies broke the tie, however, with a kill and a BU error and UNI block gave the Panthers a 25-22 win.

Northern Iowa took control of the fourth set from the outset, building a 10-1 lead thanks in part to three Emily Holterhaus kills. Holterhaus would add three more kills in the set to help the Panthers hit .429 in the stana as UNI took the fourth 25-15.

Bradley earned the #4 seed for the MVC Tournament and will face #5 seed Valparaiso Thursday in a 2 p.m. quarterfinal match at Illinois State's Redbird Arena.

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