CHICAGO, Ill. – The Bradley Braves finished the Loyola Invitational with a 1-2 record, opening the weekend with a straight-set victory over Alabama A&M before dropping five-set matches to Southeast Missouri State and host Loyola Chicago. Bradley moved to 4-5 on the season.
Match One – Alabama A&M
Bradley opened the weekend with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-22 sweep of Alabama A&M. The Braves finished with 50 kills while hitting .343 as a team, including a .485 attack percentage in the third set. Bradley also recorded 47 digs and six blocks.
Gracie Furlong led Bradley with 15 kills while hitting .294 and added eight digs. Lauren Dale finished with 11 kills, while Adeline Goedheer and Chloe Parker each hit .500 with nine and eight kills, respectively. Maria Drapp recorded 39 assists and 11 digs for a double-double, while Eirini Bitsaktsi led the Braves with 14 digs. Mairen Mannon added five kills while hitting .400 with four blocks.
Match Two – Southeast Missouri State
Bradley took the opening two sets before falling to Southeast Missouri State 25-21, 25-23, 27-29, 22-25, 13-15 in five sets. The Braves totaled 77 kills, 81 digs, 11 service aces and 10 blocks while hitting .255.
Furlong led Bradley with 20 kills and 18 digs for a double-double. Parker added 18 kills while hitting .438 with four blocks, while Dale finished with 14 kills. Mannon recorded 13 kills while hitting .310 and added five blocks, and Goedheer had nine kills without an attack error to hit .429 with five blocks. Drapp finished with 64 assists and 15 digs for a double-double and recorded her 2,000th career assist during the match. Megan DePoorter led Bradley with 19 digs, while Ava Patchett added 13 digs and a match-high five service aces.
Match Three – Loyola Chicago
Bradley rallied from a two-set deficit before falling to host Loyola Chicago 20-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-21, 10-15 in five sets. The Braves finished with 60 kills and 52 digs while hitting .214.
Furlong led Bradley with 21 kills while hitting .278 and added nine digs. Mannon finished with 10 kills, while Parker added nine kills and Goedheer recorded eight kills while hitting .467 with three blocks. Drapp totaled 44 assists and 10 digs for her third double-double of the weekend. Patchett led the Braves with 13 digs, while Bitsaktsi added 12 digs and two service aces.
Coming Up..
The Braves return home to host the CEFCU Invitational on September 18-19 at Renaissance Coliseum. Bradley will welcome UTRGV, New Mexico State, and Lindenwood to Peoria for its final nonconference tournament of the season.
