Bradley University Athletics

Volleyball Adds NJCAA All-American Maike Bertens

Illinois State Athletics

Volleyball 1/20/2022 12:50:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- First-year Bradley Volleyball Head Coach Alicia Williams wasted little time hitting the recruiting trail, announcing former Iowa Western All-American Maike Bertens (Santiago, Chile/Deutsche Schule Santiago/Iowa Western) has been added to the 2022 roster after the 6-1 outside hitter enrolled at Bradley for the 2022 Spring Semester, which started Wednesday.

Bertens was a two-year letterwinner for Williams' Iowa Western teams, helping the Rievers to back-to-back NJCAA Division I national championships during the 2021 calendar year. Bradley Volleyball's first student-athlete from South America dating back to when Delia Kong (Peru) was a member of the 1974 squad, Bertens earned NJCAA All-Tournament honors as a sophomore after averaging 2.83 kills per set for a team that finished 33-4 this past fall.

As a freshman, Bertens was a First-Team NJCAA All-American in addition to taking home NJCAA All-Tournament recognition. She averaged a team-best 3.31 kills per set and hit .280 for an Iowa Western team that went 26-3 and claimed the program's first national championship since 2006.

Bertens is one of three additions to the 2022 roster for the Braves, joining 5-11 outside hitter/right side Kaitlyn Peterson (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) and 6-3 middle blocker Kendall Minta (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie), who both signed National Letters of Intent in the fall.

A team captain as a senior, Minta helped the Eagles to a third-place state finish this past fall. She is a three-time all-conference performer and earned a spot on the Minnesota State High School League All-Tournament team in 2021. Minta was named her team's most improved player as a freshman, in addition to taking home Eden Prairie's Spirit award as a sophomore.

Petersen spent her final two prep seasons playing at Lakeville North in Minnesota after her family relocated from Oregon, where she played at Tigard High School in Tigard, Ore., her freshman and sophomore seasons. A team captain as a senior, she is part of Mizuno Northern Lights club team. Peterson was a second-team all-conference pick as a sophomore at Tigard, where she set the school season kills record. She was named to the Oregon 17u All-Star Club Team.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens: OH; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens
: 6' 1"; Junior
: OH

Volleyball Adds NJCAA All-American Maike Bertens

Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens

Players Mentioned

#14 Maike Bertens