Volleyball Set For South Dakota Classic

Josh Schwam

Volleyball 9/8/2021 12:52:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball is on the road again this week with the Braves traveling West to take part in the South Dakota Classic in Vermillion, S.D., Thursday and Friday.

Bradley (1-4 overall) opens play at the South Dakota Classic Thursday with a 6 p.m. match against preseason Summit League favorite and defending Summit League champion South Dakota (0-3 overall). The Coyotes claimed the last meeting in the series in four sets in Peoria during the 2019 season and the Braves won a contest against South Dakota back in 1977 in the first match in the series. Thursday's matchup against South Dakota can be streamed via Go Yotes Live.

Friday's action includes a 10 a.m. match against Milwaukee (2-4 overall) along with a 4:30 p.m. contest against Central Arkansas (1-2 overall). Bradley owns a 9-8 edge in the all-time series with Milwaukee, sweeping the Panthers in Peoria during the 2018 season. The last neutral site meeting in the series fell during the 1991 campaign (at Valparaiso) and the Braves hold a 2-1 advantage in neutral site meetings in the series. Friday's matchup with Central Arkansas will mark the first meeting between the Braves and Sugar Bears and will mark BU's first match against a team from the Atlantic Sun Conference since playing at Jacksonville State in 2018.

This week's trip to Vermillion, S.D., for the South Dakota Classic marks Bradley's third trip to the Mount Rushmore State. The Braves last ventured to the state of South Dakota in 2016 for a match at South Dakota State, which was BU Head Coach Carol Price-Torok's first career road victory. Both of Bradley's previous ventures to South Dakota have been to Brookings, S.D., with the Braves participating in the 2012 Jackrabbit Invitational. Bradley split a pair of matches during that 2012 trip and own a 2-1 all-time record in the state of South Dakota.

Bradley will play a third consecutive non-conference road match when the Braves open up play at the South Dakota Classic Thursday against the tournament host. The South Dakota Classic wraps up a stretch of five consecutive road/neutral site matches (first since opening 2017 season with six straight matches away from home). Saturday's three-set victory at Eastern Michigan was Bradley's first non-conference road sweep since a three-set win at South Dakota State on Sept. 4, 2016 and snapped an eight-match losing skid in non-conference road contests.

Friday's matches against Milwaukee and Central Arkansas mark the only neutral site matches for Bradley during the regular season. Excluding last year's abbreviated schedule in which the Braves played only conference matches, the last season Bradley had two or fewer neutral site matches during the regular season was 2010 (2-0). Overall, the Braves are 12-10 in neutral site matches under Head Coach Carol-Price Torok, which includes a 12-7 record in regular-season neutral site contests.

Junior Karagan Coggin hit a blistering .440 in Bradley's two matches at last week's Golden Grizzlies Invitational, averaging 3.25 kills and 0.88 blocks per set to take home all-tournament team honors. Coggin collected a career-best 18 kills and hit .405 Friday at Oakland to mark the first time a Brave had 15 or more kills and hit at least .400 in a match since Erica Haslag did so against Omaha on Sept. 14, 2018. Coggin hit .538 and had eight kills in Bradley's three-set victory at Eastern Michigan Saturday.

Bradley's all-time digs leader, senior Hannah Thompson has 1,499 career digs and needs just one more dig to become the 10th player in MVC history with 1,000 career kills and 1,500 or more digs. Only three other active players in the nation have at least 1,000 kills and as many as 1,300 digs with all three individuals currently playing in their fifth collegiate season. Thompson ranks seventh in the MVC in kills per set this season (3.37) and eighth in digs (4.26), while accounting for 25.9 percent of Bradley's points on the year. Thompson is one of just three players in the MVC scoring at least 25 percent of their team's points (25.9%), joining Drake's Haley Bush (33.6%) and Alondra Vazquez (29.9%) of Evansville.

The Braves follow up the South Dakota Classic by playing 10 of the next 14 matches at home, starting Sept. 17 & 18 with the CEFCU Classic at Renaissance Coliseum.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Karagan Coggin: RS/MB; 6' 2"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

#3 Karagan Coggin
: 6' 2"; Junior
: RS/MB

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

Volleyball Set For South Dakota Classic

Players Mentioned

#3 Karagan Coggin

#6 Hannah Thompson

Players Mentioned

#3 Karagan Coggin

#6 Hannah Thompson