Bradley Volleyball Hosts CEFCU Classic To Close Non-Conference

Josh Schwam

Volleyball 9/15/2021 1:15:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball returns home this weekend to close out the non-conference portion of the 2021 schedule, welcoming North Dakota, Northern Colorado and Saint Louis to Renaissance Coliseum for the CEFCU Classic Friday and Saturday.

Tournament action begins Friday morning with Northern Colorado (6-2 overall) facing Saint Louis (5-5 overall) at 10 a.m. in the first of four matches on the opening day of play. Bradley (2-6 overall) takes on North Dakota (1-8 overall) at 12:30 p.m. with North Dakota returning to the court again at 4:30 p.m. for a contest against Saint Louis. The Braves close out the first day of the tournament with a 7 p.m. match against North Dakota. Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m. with North Dakota and Northern Colorado squaring off, while Bradley concludes the tournament Saturday at 1 p.m. against Saint Louis.

The first day of the CEFCU Invitational is another "Free Food Fridays presented by Papa John's" with Bradley students in attendance at either of the BU matches that day receiving a coupon for a free Papa John's Papadia.

BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats for all six matches of the CEFCU Classic. The three matches featuring the Braves will be streamed, with both of Friday's matches (North Dakota & Northern Colorado) available on ESPN+, while Saturday's matchup vs. Saint Louis can be viewed on ESPN3.

This weekend's CEFCU Invitational marks the second home tournament of the season for Bradley. Overall, the Braves are 64-41 (.610) when hosting an in-season tournament, which includes a 14-7 (.667) mark under Head Coach Carol Price-Torok. Bradley has hosted at least one tournament in 12 of the last 14 years and 16 of the last 19 seasons. The weekend event at Renaissance Coliseum also marks the fourth straight year Bradley concludes the non-conference portion of the schedule at home (excludes the 2020-21 season with no non-conference matches). The Braves have ended the non-conference portion of the slate with a victory each of the last three seasons wrapping up the non-conference schedule at home (2017, 2018 & 2019).

After playing five consecutive road or neutral site matches for the first time since opening the 2017 season with six road/neutral site contests, Bradley Volleyball returns to Renaissance Coliseum to play 10 of the next 14 matches at home. Despite an 0-3 record at home this season, the Braves are 31-10 (.756) in their last 41 outings at Renaissance Coliseum. Bradley has won more than 31 home matches in a four-year period nine previous times, including each of the last two seasons, but the .756 home winning percentage would be the second highest in a four-year stretch in school history behind only the 2002 senior class that went a combined 42-13 (.764) at home between 1999 and 2002. The only other senior class to win at least 70 percent of its home matches was 2001 (35-15).

Junior setter Carlee Camlin received all-tournament honors at the South Dakota Classic, after taking over as the team's primary setter for the final two matches. Camlin highlighted the four-set loss to Milwaukee with career highs of four kills and 40 assists, while also turning in six digs and two blocks. She recorded 32 assists in the three-set victory against Central Arkansas as she helped Bradley hit .313 in the victory. The .313 attack percentage was Bradley's most efficient hitting effort since the final home match of the 2019 season (.319 vs. Indiana State) and was BU's highest attack percentage away from home dating back to a .337 performance at Southern Illinois on Sept. 21, 2018.

After a slow start to the season, sophomore Doga Topcicek has been heating up with the outside hitter notching a season-best 12 kills in each of the last two contests. Topcicek averaged 2.90 kills per set this past weekend at the South Dakota Classic and hit .222 in the three outings after averaging 0.82 kills and owning a -.024 hitting percentage through the first five contests of the season.

Bradley's all-time digs leader, senior Hannah Thompson topped 1,500 career digs over the weekend and is now one of 10 players in MVC history with 1,100 career kills and 1,500 or more digs. Thompson is the first active player in the MVC with 1,100 kills and 1,500 or more digs since Missouri State's Lily Johnson and Kyla Inderski of Drake wrapped up their careers in 2017. Thompson has six double-doubles on the year and needs just six more double-doubles to break the Bradley career double-double mark of 69 shared by Samantha Hardwick (1998-01) and Jenny Pavlas (1993-97). Owning 1,510 career digs, Thompson currently sits 116 digs from pushing her career total among the top 30 in MVC history and needs 67 digs to become just the seventh individual in MVC history with 1,100 career kills and 1,600 or more digs.

The Braves follow up the CEFCU Invitational by opening the Missouri Valley Conference portion of the schedule with a match at Northern Iowa on Friday, Sept. 24.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Carlee Camlin: S; 6' 0"; Junior

#6 Hannah Thompson: OH; 5' 8"; Senior

#17 Doga Topcicek: OH; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#8 Carlee Camlin
: 6' 0"; Junior
: S

#6 Hannah Thompson
: 5' 8"; Senior
: OH

#17 Doga Topcicek
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: OH

Bradley Volleyball Hosts CEFCU Classic To Close Non-Conference

Players Mentioned

#8 Carlee Camlin

#6 Hannah Thompson

#17 Doga Topcicek

Players Mentioned

#8 Carlee Camlin

#6 Hannah Thompson

#17 Doga Topcicek