Kaboom! Awards: Volleyball Highlights

Volleyball 6/14/2021 3:00:00 PM

The 2021 Kaboom! Awards, presented by RE/MAX Traders Unlimited and supported by PNC, continue by spotlighting the 2020-21 Bradley Volleyball season.

Posting a league-best 12 Missouri Valley Conference victories, the Braves were one of just five teams to play a full league schedule in 2020-21. Bradley finished fourth in the Valley standings with a 12-6 mark as the Braves placed in the top four in the league for a third consecutive year; a first for a BU program that has also tied the school record for MVC wins (36) in a three-year stretch.

The Braves opened the regular-season slate by splitting the season series with regular-season champion Illinois State and finished the conference schedule with a series split with Northern Iowa as Bradley earned its first win in the series with the Panthers since 2005. Boasting a young roster with no seniors and missing 2019 Second-Team All-MVC pick Rachel Pranger due to a season-ending injury, the Braves went on to reach the MVC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2002.

Led by a pair of First-Team All-MVC performers, Bradley once again ranked among the top defensive squads in the nation. In fact, the Braves finished the year third nationally in digs per set (20.41) and have ranked in the top three in the country in digs per set each of the last three seasons. Bradley is the lone team in the nation to average 18.00 digs per set or more each the last four years.

Hannah Thompson became the first player in program history to take home AVCA All-Region honors, earning honorable mention distinction after a season in which she was the only player in the nation to average at least 3.50 kills and 4.90 digs per set. Thompson, who earned First-Team All-MVC honors for a second straight season, led the Braves in both categories and finished with 14 double-doubles in 19 matches. She notched her 1,000^th career kill and will enter her senior season needing just 20 digs to break the Bradley career digs record as she is just the 13^th player in MVC history with 1,000 career kills and 1,400 or more digs.

A transfer from Wichita State, setter Kora Kauling also earned First-Team All-MVC honors in her first year with the Braves. Kauling was the first Bradley setter to earn all-conference honors since 2002 after she ranked fourth in the Valley in assists per set and led a BU offense that was third nationally in attacks per set. She collected eight double-doubles in her first season with the Braves and was the first BU setter to average at least 1.5 kills per set since Sam Hardwick in 2000.

Karagan Coggin was a Second-Team All-MVC pick after ranking second on the team in both kills per set (2.36) and blocks per set (0.90). She collected a conference-best 17 block solos, which rank as the most by a Brave since 2008 and led the team with a .248 hitting percentage.

The 2021 Kaboom! Awards, presented by RE/MAX Traders Unlimited and supported by PNC, continue Tuesday with highlights from Bradley Men's Basketball and Bradley Tennis.

2021 Kaboom! Awards Presentation Schedule

Day, Date	Feature	Links
Monday, June 14	Men's Golf highlights	Video \| Article
Monday, June 14	Volleyball highlights	Video \| Article
Tuesday, June 15	Men's Basketball highlights	Video \| Article
Tuesday, June 15	Tennis highlights	Video \| Article
Wednesday, June 16	Women's Basketball highlights	Video \| Article
Wednesday, June 16	Softball highlights	Video \| Article
Thursday, June 17	Cross Country/Track & Field highlights	Video \| Article
Thursday, June 17	Soccer highlights	Video \| Article
Friday, June 18	Baseball highlights	Video \| Article
Friday, June 18	Women's Golf highlights	Video \| Article
Monday, June 21	Female Coach Joe Stowell Award	Video \| Article
Monday, June 21	Male Coach Joe Stowell Award	Video \| Article
Tuesday, June 22	Carl Grose Service Award	Video \| Article
Tuesday, June 22	Special Recognition Award	Article
Wednesday, June 23	Charles Orsborn Award Finalists	Video \| Article
Wednesday, June 23	Megan C. Fong Inspiration Award	Video \| Article
Thursday, June 24	Female Most Outstanding Athlete	Video \| Article
Thursday, June 24	Male Most Outstanding Athlete	Video \| Article
Friday, June 25	Charles Orsborn Award	Video