PEORIA Ill. – Bradley Volleyball was narrowly edged by Murray State and Belmont this weekend at Renaissance Coliseum, losing both matches in five sets.
Bradley hosted Murray State on Friday night for their second match of the season against the Racers. The Braves lost a very close set one by a score of 29-27 but bounded back to win the next two with scores of 25-18 and 25-22. The Racers secured the victory with a 25-19 score in the fourth set and a match-winning score of 15-12 in the fifth set.
Senior Abby Johnson led the way for Bradley with 18 kills and a .295 hitting percentage. Karagan Coggin and Kendall Minta both contributed with 12 kills. Setter Loren Scott tallied nine kills, 45 assists, five aces and three blocks for the Braves.
To wrap up the weekend, Bradley faced Belmont on Saturday night, marking their third consecutive five-set match. Belmont narrowly won the first set with a score of 27-25, but Bradley came back to claim the next two sets with scores of 25-19 and 25-20. The Bruins took the fourth set by a score of 25-23 and the final set 15-12.
Minta recorded an impressive .419 hitting percentage with 17 kills, while Johnson added 13 kills. Dru Kuck led the team on the defensive side with 33 digs, and McKenna Sheib had eight kills with no errors.
Bradley will travel to Illinois State on Monday night to continue Missouri Valley Conference play. They defeated the Redbirds in both matches last season. The Braves will return to Renaissance Coliseum this weekend to face Indiana State on Friday at 6 PM and Evansville on Saturday at 5 PM.
