Box Score Peoria, Ill. - It was certainly a tall task going in for Bradley Volleyball (9-18, 5-10 MVC), as the Braves found themselves trying to take down the Drake Bulldogs (21-6, 12-2 MVC) and Northern Iowa Panthers (22-6, 15-0 MVC), all amidst the emotions of Senior Weekend, honoring Raeann Bergman, Karagan Coggin, Carlee Camlin, and Serena Sparks. 

ABOUT THE DRAKE MATCH
The Bulldogs got off to a fast start on Friday night. Drake had one of their highest hitting percentages of the night (.333), while Bradley had its lowest (.088). A pair of kills and a pair of aces were part of what sparked a 5-0 run for the visitors out of the gate. Bradley got all the way within 11-10, but despite numerous attempts of chipping away at the Bulldog lead, it was just too much. Carlee Camlin set up Karagan Coggin for a kill to pull Bradley to a 21-15 deficit, but Drake would go on another 4-0 run, with two of those points coming on errors by the Braves. It gave Drake a 25-15 first set win.

The second set got off to a slightly better start. Doga Topcicek got the set going with a kill to put Bradley ahead 1-0, and the Braves capitalized on an attack error to go up 2-1. It was early in the set at that point, but it would ultimately become Bradley's last lead of that frame. The Braves got consecutive kills from Coggin and Topcicek to get within 10-8, and back-to-back kills from Abby Johnson had Bradley down 16-13 to Drake, but it was a case of so close, so far. From the point of a Coggin kill to get within 18-15, Drake went on a tear, out-scoring Bradley 7-1 the rest of the set, mostly on Bradley errors. Silan Demirkol stopped what was a 6-0 run with a kill, but the Bulldogs wrapped the set on the next point, 25-16.

Bradley wasn't going down without a fight. After all, the Braves are fighting for the final spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Bradley held numerous one-point leads all the way up to a kill from Kendall Minta making it 10-9 Braves. Back came the extended runs by the Bulldogs runs of 5-0 and 3-0 took a one point Bradley lead and turned it into a six-point Drake lead. The Braves charged back with a 5-1 run of their own, which featured kills by both Coggin and Topcicek, all taking the set to a 22-20 Drake lead. Bradley was as close as 24-23 on a Drake attack error, but the Bulldogs closed out the sweep on a kill at 25-23.

ABOUT THE NORTHERN IOWA MATCH
The Braves were off to quite the even start with Northern Iowa on Saturday. Kills from Abby Johnson and Doga Topcicek gave the Braves leads of 7-6 and 10-9. However, the Panthers would switch gears to force the media timeout at 15-13. Karagan Coggin and Topcicek both got up for a double block to tie the set at 17-17. It would continue to be a close battle, but with Bradley having just enough momentum, the Panthers would call time to regroup at 21-21. That would turn out to be the difference maker. After that timeout, the Panthers doubled up the Braves 4-2 to take a 25-23 set win. 

While the first set saw such a see-saw affair, the next go-around saw Northern Iowa perhaps truly start to grab momentum when an attack error by Bradley put the Panthers in front by a 10-6 margin. From that four point lead, the Braves would never get close in the set, that was, until another double block from the Coggin/Topcicek duo made it 20-17. Northern Iowa had just pushed too far ahead, and would go up two sets on a 25-20 second set win. 

What would become the final set started off heavily in Bradley's favor. Karagan Coggin found the open court for an ace to put the braves ahead 5-2. While Northern Iowa made their charges, the Braves kept it close, including a putback kill off an overdig from Silan Demirkol, keeping the one-point set, 13-12 UNI. After that, though, it seemed as if the visitors smelled bloood. Northern Iowa went off to the tune of an 11-5 run. Once again, the Braves stayed within three to six points, but were simply unable to crack that next code of taking the lead. The Panthers used that aforementioned run to lock in a sweep with a 25-18 set win. 

SHE SAID IT - QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH ALICIA WILLIAMS
On staying with Northern Iowa in the opening set
"I felt like we came out executing a scouting report of where they really burned us last time. Our effort was there all night." 

On quality start to the third set
"We just didn't give up. We came out kind of fiery in the third set. That's something that, for sure, I'm really proud of."

On what role the senior class played in making the smooth transition as a first-year head coach at Bradley
"They really have great leadership skills - really just trying to fill the void of a lot of newness. They took me in, which is not always easy when someone is taking control of a lot of aspects of their lives. They did that gracefully. They've led with a great heart."

On how critical the last three regular season matches are after having just fallen out of the eighth spot in the MVC standings (Eight teams make the MVC Tournament)
"We've struggled a little bit on the road, so we've really got to dig deep here and try to get some wins. The blessing of it is that we actually are in the hunt, and so we have something to play for. I think when we have a little something to prove, our team plays pretty well." 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE BRAVES?
@ Valparaiso Beacons
Friday, November 11th - 6 PM
Watch Live (ESPN3)
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