Peoria, Ill. - Confidence has been resurging within the Bradley Volleyball program. The Braves (7-14, 3-6 MVC) have specifically found consistent confidence of late, rattling off their third consecutive home win on Saturday night, this one over the Indiana State Sycamores (3-14, 2-7 MVC) in a straight-set sweep. 

CLOSE, AND NO MOMENTUM
A tightly-contested battle ensued from the first point of the set. So much so, it took a kill from Silan Demirkol that put Bradley ahead 17-13 for either team to have north of a three-point lead in the set. 

Demirkol joined the duo of Doga Topcicek and Raeann Bergman to power Bradley on a 3-0 kill run late in the set. 

Alas, it was a net violation from the Sycamores that gave Bradley a 25-22 win in the opening set.

WARMER... WARMER...
Come time for set number two, it was more of the same - highly competitive, effectively momentum-less volleyball. Silan Demirkol continued her quality match with a kill and ace on consecutive points, giving Bradley an early 7-6 advantage. 

Raeann Bergman was always a key piece at the net, getting her fourth kill at the 9-7 mark of the set. Ultimately, she would wind up just shy of a career high in kills (12; career-high is 14). It would be Abby Johnson putting Bradley on set point with a kill at 24-23. Yet it was the service game that found the key point of the set, with Karina Simatos giving Bradley a 26-24 set win.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
Bergman again. That's how the set got underway. The senior's tenth kill of the night (first such match since 11/6/21) gave Bradley its first point of the set. 

The biggest concern in the set appeared to be the quick serves from the Sycamores. A couple of points in that fashion and Indiana State held a 10-7 lead. 

Kills from Topcicek and Bergman were part of a mini-comeback to tie the set at 10. Indiana State was the first to 15 by virtue of a kill, and the first to 20 on a Bradley attack error. The Braves would finally take a 21-20 lead when Karagan Coggin found the open court for an ace. 

The Sycamores would tie, but the lead would not be theirs for the rest of the evening. The visitors committed a service error to give Bradley match point, and Silan Demirkol shut the door with a kill and a 25-23 set win. 

ON A STREAK
Overall, Saturday's match is the second consecutive win overall for the Braves after Friday's victory over Evansville. Of note, it's Bradley's first 3-0 sweep at home since last season's tilt with Indiana State. 

SHE SAID IT - HEAD COACH ALICIA WILLIAMS
On how the ability to have fun played into tonight's result
"It was close, but I felt like we controlled the game. I think that we were having fun. It helps when you have this kind of a crowd helping with the energy. It's good for the mind, it's good for the flow of how we've been playing the last few weeks."

On persevering through a consistently close match
I think, for us, putting that in our back pocket - we held our minds together. It's always fun to win a match that's close." 

On what a match performance like Raeann Bergman's 12 kills does for the team
"She's always been ready. She's always been prepared. She's always been consistent. We just love her to death. We all knew Rae was ready, and Rae knew she was ready. It was really great to see her be able to have such a great match."

On newfound confidence breeding different attitude going into a road trip (Braves are 0-6 in true road matches)
"Yeah. One, we have a winning streak for the first time. We're going to take it. I just feel like, in the last four or five matches, win or lose, we've been feeling more ourselves. We've been defending a lot better." 

SHE SAID IT - #20, RAEANN BERGMAN
On what kind of rhythm she felt she had out of the front row
"I just wanted to go out there and play really free. Teammates, we were all setting each other up. We're completely bought in now."

On transitioning pregame freedom mindset to some form of points
"I knew that my teammates had all the trust in me, and I had all the trust in them. It was just really easy."

On the players' mindsets going into the Murray State/Belmont weekend next week
"I think we're just super confident now. We're going to go into this weekend knowing that we're capable of taking care of business."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE BRAVES
@ Murray State Racers (7-12 Overall, 3-6 MVC)
Friday, October 21st - 6PM First Serve
Racer Arena - Murray, Kentucky