Peoria, Ill. - A return home may have been just what the doctor ordered for Bradley Volleyball (6-14, 2-6 MVC). After a pair of 0-3 losses to Northern Iowa and Drake, a home tilt with Evansville (7-15, 4-4 MVC) was up next. 

CLOSE BATTLE EARLY
The opening set was a tightly contested one. Bradley did have the edge on the attacking front, doubling Evansville in kills (18-9), but the Braves had nine errors to the Aces' two to keep things in a manageable point range. The Braves got off to a 4-0 start, capped by a kill from Carlee Camlin. Evansville got within 5-4, but ultimately, would not take their first lead of the match until the 12-11 mark. Evansville was unable to get a lead of more than three points, and Bradley would eventually storm back to take a 22-21 lead on an ace from Karagan Coggin. The Braves would surrender a point on an attack error for a 23-22 set score, but in the end, a kill from Kendall Minta wrapped up the set with a 25-23 Bradley win. 

ACES FLIP
Evansville recovered nicely in the second set, however. A 9-2 run that featured five early kills from the Aces' front row forced an early Bradley timeout. It didn't get better from there. The Aces went on a 5-3 run after the timeout to maintain a nine-point lead, and just like that, Bradley was out of timeouts on just five points. 

The Braves were able to get to 10 on a Minta kill. Evansville would wrap up the set on a pair of kills from Alondra Vazquez, giving the visitors a 25-15 second set win. 

BRADLEY FIGHTS BACK
Bradley got off to an early 3-0 lead in the third set to the tune of kills from Camlin and Coggin. Evansville wasn't about to let the run extend for too horribly long, as they would take the lead at 6-5. Back-to-back kills from Abby Johnson and Coggin preceded an ace from Serena Sparks, putting Bradley ahead 10-6 and forcing an Aces timeout. 

It would be the Braves this go-around when it came to momentum and a big run. The lead swelled to 15-8 on consecutive kills from Karagan Coggin, and that was enough for Evansville to spend their final timeout of the set. 

The Aces would get within 20-17, but the Braves held the lead the rest of the way. Another service ace from Sparks gave Bradley a 25-18 set win and gave them a 2-1 set lead.

CLOSING THE DOOR
Although it would be the set Bradley won the match on, it wasn't for a lack of drama. The lead for either side was never more than two points until an Evansville attack error put Bradley ahead 8-5. A combination of kills for Evansville and attack errors for the Bradley front row forced the Braves to call time and regroup, ahead by a mere point. 

A 4-1 run was made by the Braves in what would become a well-used timeout for coach Alicia Williams. An ace from Silan Demirkol capped that run and put Bradley up 17-13. Alas, Evansville would get no closer. A kill from Coggin put the Braves on match point, and an attack error by the Aces closed out a four-set home win for Bradley.

BRADLEY ON A STREAK
The win over Evansville marks Bradley's second consecutive home win, after the Braves beat I-74 rival Illinois State on October 4th. 

SHE SAID IT - HEAD COACH ALICIA WILLIAMS
On the overall effort of the Braves' outside hitters:
"I thought they were aggressive, but here's the difference. They decided to play defense consistently. I thought that created momentum for them offensively." 

On the specific efforts of Kendall Minta (career-high 14 kills):
"She did really, really well in the preseason. She had been a little quiet in the past few weeks in conference. We just talked with her about staying aggressive and just trusting that she's a great player. She had a lot of confidence tonight. She just feeds off of that momentum."

On a quality service run by Carlee Camlin in the fourth set:
"Carlee was serving well. Also, we just had these scrappy, really good effort plays. Those are the things that create momentum and shut teams down mentally. I sensed that we were not stressed, and we've been playing a lot of stress ball." 

On what confidence the win can give the group:
"I mean, we haven't had a streak. So a two-game win streak? That's just the honest truth. So just wanting that, and just trying to earn that respect in the Valley. I don't want to be overlooked."

SHE SAID IT - #21, KENDALL MINTA
On the rhythm she had out of the front row:
"I had a lot of trust in my team - they were all really supportive. It can flow a lot better when we all work together like that."

On where the team's at mentally on consecutive home wins:
"We're really hungry. Obviously, we didn't have the best start. Now, we're really excited to keep pushing through the end of conference and hopefully get to a much better spot."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE BRAVES
Bradley welcomes Indiana State tomorrow for a unique doubleheader at Renaissance Coliseum. The Braves and Sycamores will battle at 5PM. Then, Kate Popovec-Goss and Brian Wardle will have their women's and men's basketball programs take the stage for the annual Red-White Showcase. Fans purchasing tickets can secure a seat for both events in one purchase. The link to do so is below.

NEXT MATCH INFO
vs. Indiana State Sycamores (3-13, 2-5 MVC)
Saturday, October 15th - 5:00 PM First Serve
Watch Live (ESPN3)
Live Stats (HERE)
Tickets (HERE)