PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley Volleyball opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a road sweep, taking down Indiana State in straight sets on Friday before earning a four-set victory over Evansville on Saturday. The Braves improved to 7-7 overall and 2-0 in MVC play.
Match One – Indiana State
Bradley opened Valley play with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 sweep over Indiana State on Friday night in Terre Haute. The Braves totaled 43 kills while hitting .284 as a team, along with 45 digs, six blocks and five service aces. Bradley held the Sycamores to a .082 hitting percentage.
Chloe Parker and Gracie Furlong led the Braves with eight kills each. Parker hit .417 while adding five blocks, two service aces and five digs. Mairen Mannon and Cherlin Antonio each added seven kills, with Mannon hitting .545 and Antonio hitting .462.
Maria Drapp filled the stat sheet with 30 assists, 11 digs and five kills. Furlong added 10 digs, while Ava Patchett and Eirini Bitsaktsi each recorded seven.
Match Two – Evansville
Bradley bounced back after dropping the opening set to defeat Evansville 20-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-20 on Saturday. The Braves hit .357 with 52 kills while adding 51 digs, nine blocks and 12 service aces. Bradley hit .480 in the second set and .500 in the fourth to close out the weekend sweep.
Furlong led the Braves with 15 kills while hitting .364 and added 10 digs for a double-double. Mannon followed with 10 kills on a .563 hitting percentage, while Antonio and Trixie Carroll each added eight kills.
Drapp recorded 38 assists, nine digs, six kills and four blocks while hitting .667. Parker added five kills, five service aces and four blocks, while Bitsaktsi led Bradley with 14 digs. Patchett added eight digs and three aces.
Coming Up
Bradley returns home for its first Valley matches at Renaissance Coliseum next weekend. The Braves will host reigning MVC champion UNI on Friday before facing Drake on Saturday.
