Bradley Volleyball Opens Practice

Volleyball 8/9/2021 2:35:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Sixth-year Bradley Volleyball Head Coach Carol Price-Torok and her squad held their first official practice in preparation for the upcoming 2021 season Monday at Renaissance Coliseum, holding two training sessions after reporting to campus Sunday.

The Braves return all 11 letterwinners from last year's team which won a league-best 12 Missouri Valley Conference contests last year and finished fourth in the final league standings. Bradley, which was one of just five Valley teams to play a full conference schedule in 2020-21, joins I-74 rival Illinois State as the only teams to finish in the top four of the league standings each of the last three seasons and BU boasts three consecutive top-four conference showings for the first time in program history.

Monday's pair of practices kicked off an 18-day preseason schedule leading into the start of the 2021 regular season Aug. 27 & 28 with the first of two home tournaments. Fans can get an early look at the Braves, however, with the team's Red-White Scrimmage scheduled for Friday, Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. at Renaissance Coliseum followed by a Team Meet & Greet and Q&A session. The Braves will also play an exhibition match at UIC Saturday, Aug. 21.

For the first time in two decades and just the second time in program history, Bradley returns a pair of First-Team All-MVC picks from the previous year with senior setter Kora Kauling and senior outside hitter Hannah Thompson both taking home first-team all-league honors in 2020-21. The only other season in which the Braves returned a pair of First-Team All-Valley picks from the previous year was 2001 when Laura Benzing and Samantha Hardwick returned to help guide the Braves to a 24-8 overall record and third-place conference finish that was highlighted by a school record 14 MVC victories.

Bradley actually boasts four all-conference performers on the roster in 2021 with junior Karagan Coggin earning Second-Team All-MVC honors this spring and 2019 Second-Team All-Valley pick Rachel Pranger returning from an injury that sidelined her for the entire 2020-21 campaign.

Thompson, who was named the first Academic All-American in program history this summer, enters the season just 20 digs short of breaking Bradley's career digs record. In fact, Thompson is the 15th player in MVC History with 1,000 career kills and 1,400 or more career digs and is the only active player in the nation to do so.

BU's first setter to take home all-conference honors since 2002, Kauling was the first Bradley setter to average better than 1.5 kills per set since Hardwick in 2000.

In addition to the cast of returning players, the Braves added six newcomers to the mix as Bradley has its largest roster since 2017. The Braves also have added height with 14 of the 18 Braves checking in at 5-11 or taller and BU having 10 or more individuals measuring at least six foot for the first time dating back to 2013.

Along with four freshmen, Bradley will benefit from the addition of two-time NJCAA All-American and Metamora, Ill., native Alivia West (Illinois Central College). Loren Scott also brings collegiate experience to the roster with the redshirt-sophomore spending the 2020-21 season at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, on the heels of a redshirt year (2019-20) at Florida State.

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