Volleyball Opens MVC Play On The Road

BradleyBraves.com

Volleyball 9/22/2022 11:00:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Volleyball kicks off the Missouri Valley Conference portion of the schedule on the road, with the Braves starting a two-match weekend road trip Friday afternoon at Indiana State and concluding the road swing Saturday at Evansville.

Bradley (4-8 overall) will be on the road to start conference action for a third consecutive year. The Braves will open MVC action in the state of Indiana for the fifth time (3-1) and BU will play at Indiana State to open league play for the fourth time (2-1). Overall, Bradley is 4-1 when facing Indiana State in the conference opener, but only one of those matches has been since 1999 - a four set loss in Terre Haute, Ind., in 2016

Friday's match in Terre Haute, Ind., will start at 5 p.m. (CT), while Saturday's outing at Evansville also has a 5 p.m. first serve. Both contests will be available on ESPN3.

The Braves swept the regular-season matchup with the Sycamores last year, but Indiana State claimed a MVC Tournament semifinal matchup in Normal, Ill. Bradley has won six consecutive regular-season matches in the series and now owns a 46-33 lead in the all-time series. The Braves have won the last two meetings in Terre Haute, Ind., but Indiana State owns a 21-14 advantage in contests played in Terre Haute.

Bradley and Evansville split the regular-season series last year, but the Aces ended BU's season in the second round of the NIVC in a contest played in Chicago in December. Overall, the Braves have won eight of the last 10 in the series to take a 36-26 lead in the all-time series. Bradley has won three of its last four road matches in the series and the teams have split 30 all-time meetings played in Evansville, Ind.

Bradley has played a league-low two true road matches leading into Friday's Missouri Valley Conference opener at Indiana State and the Braves have played a league-high six home matches to date. Only six teams in the nation have played fewer than Bradley's two true road games in 2022. The Braves were 7-6 in true road games last season, which marked the team's highest road win total since capping the 2001 campaign with a 9-7 road record.

Karagan Coggin reached double digits in kills in each of the final two matches of the CEFCU Classic last weekend and has been heating up of late with the senior hitting .309 over the last five outings. Coggin averaged 1.86 kills and 0.79 blocks per set at the CEFCU Classic, tallying four block solos in the process. She moved into the top 10 in school history in block solos into a tie for 10th all-time at Bradley with Laura Benzing (1998-01) at 53 and is the first Brave to crack the top 10 in block solos since BU Hall of Famer Jenna Passman (2000-03), who currently ranks eighth all-time with 60.

Three of Bradley's last four matches have gone to a deciding fifth set and the Braves enter MVC play coming off back-to-back five-set contests. Bradley has played a league-high five five-set matches in 2022 after the Braves a conference-best nine five-setters in 2021. Three of BU's four wins this season have come in five-set outings and the Braves are 6-2 in their last eight outings that went to a fifth set. Bradley split a pair of five-set matches last Saturday to close out the CEFCU Classic to mark the first time the Braves played a pair of five-set matches on the same day going back to the first day of the 2015 season (at Toledo & vs. Youngstown State).

Bradley follows up the road swing with a three-game home stand that starts Friday, Sept. 30 with the Braves hosting MVC newcomer UIC in a 6 p.m. contest at Renaissance Coliseum.

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Players Mentioned

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

Players Mentioned

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

Volleyball Opens MVC Play On The Road

Players Mentioned

#3 Karagan Coggin

Players Mentioned

#3 Karagan Coggin