Bradley University Athletics

Carol Price-Torok was named the ninth head coach in Bradley Volleyball history in February 2016 and is entering her sixth season on The Hilltop.

Price-Torok, who took over the head coaching duties at Bradley after spending the previous eight seasons at Arkansas, led the Braves to improved overall and MVC win totals in each of her first three seasons to mark the first time Bradley had higher overall and Valley win totals in three consecutive seasons since 1992-94.  After a fourth-place MVC finish in 2020-21, the Braves have placed in the top four in the league standings for a program-best three consecutive years. 

Taking over a program which won 30 MVC games in the 10 years combined prior to her arrival at Bradley, she has led the Braves to 41 league wins in her five years on The Hilltop, including 36 over the last three years to tie the school record for league wins over a three-year stretch (1999-01).

The 2018 MVC Coach of the Year has mentored six First-Team All-MVC selections during her time at Bradley, which is equal to BU’s total of first-team all-conference picks from 2002-16.  Thompson was named the 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year and the Braves have produced a pair of First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-District V honorees. 

The 2020-21 season resulted in Bradley winning a league-best 12 conference wins and a fourth-place Valley showing.  The Braves, which played in their first MVC Tournament semifinal since 2002, had a roster with no seniors and despite missing Second-Team All-MVC pick Rachel Pranger went on to finish 12-6 in Valley action.  Led by First-Team all-conference picks Kora Kauling and Hannah Thompson, who also received honorable mention AVCA all-region recognition, Bradley ranked in the top five nationally in digs per set (3^rd – 20.41) for a third consecutive year.   The 12 conference wins is the fifth-best league total in school history. 

Highlighting the 2020-21 campaign was Bradley’s first victory over perennial Valley power Northern Iowa dating back to 2005.

Bradley has ranked in the top 11 in the nation in digs per set in each of the past four seasons, including ranking second nationally in both 2018 and 2019. 
During the 2019 season, Price-Torok had a team primarily made of freshmen and sophomores and led them to a fourth-place conference finish as the Braves had back-to-back seasons with 11 or more Valley wins for just the second time in school history and first time since the 2001 & 2002 campaigns. In January 2020, she was named one of VolleyballMag.com’s 40 Under 40 Coaching Hotshots.

After the first postseason appearance in program history in 2018, Bradley went 15-15 in 2019 for the first back-to-back seasons with .500 or better records in nearly two decades.  The 2019 campaign included the first regular-season sweep of I-74 rival Illinois State since 2001.  Thompson, who was the third sophomore in program history to earn First-Team All-MVC honors, teamed with Pranger to give Bradley its first combo in program history with 340 kills and at least 375 digs.

The youthful Braves played nine five-set matches in 2019 and received over 70 percent of its kills, digs and blocks from underclassmen last fall.  Thompson broke the Bradley season record with 24 double-doubles and was the only player in the nation with at least 380 kills and 550 or more digs. 

A historic 2018 campaign culminated in the first postseason appearance in program history (second round of the NIVC).  Bradley had the second-largest win improvement (+14) in the nation in 2018, posting a 24-9 record and the team’s 10-win improvement in Valley play, which resulted in a third-place league finish and 13-5 mark along with matching the best single-season improvement in conference history.

Bradley ranked among the top defensive teams in the nation in 2018, closing the season second nationally in digs per set and the Braves were 36^th in the country in opponent hitting percentage.  Three Braves earned All-MVC honors during 2018 with Erica Haslag, who was one of 30 national Senior CLASS award candidates, becoming just the seventh two-time First-Team All-Valley honoree in program history as she capped her career third in career kills at BU and 10^th in MVC history.  Yavianliz Rosado also earned First-Team All-MVC honors after ranking third in the nation in digs per set, with her school season record dig total of 758 third among MVC season marks and 11^th in NCAA history under the current 25-point set format. 

In addition, Thompson was the 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year and a Second-Team All-MVC pick.  Thompson posted 20 double-doubles, ranking second on the team in both kills and digs as she broke the Bradley freshman records in both categories.  Thompson joined Lindsay Stalzer as the only other Brave to earn MVC Freshman of the Year honors and was Bradley’s first freshman to earn All-MVC honors dating back to 1993.  The only freshman in the country to tally 380 kills and at least 525 digs, Thompson was one of just two players in the nation to do so in 2018. 

The 2017 campaign was highlighted by Bradley’s first First-Team All-MVC selection (Haslag) since 2005 after the junior outside hitter ranked 11^th in the nation in total kills and 15^th in total points.  Haslag became just the third player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills as a junior as she helped pace a Bradley offense which boasted its best kills-per-set average since 2006 and the best season hitting percentage since 2011.

In addition to Haslag’s efforts, broke the Bradley season digs record which dated back to 1985 during the 2017 campaign.  Rosado was 11^th in the country in total digs, while breaking the Bradley season digs per set average at 5.28 per set.  Defensively, Bradley ranked 11^th nationally in digs per set (18.21) with the team’s highest average since rally scoring was introduced following the 2000 season.

Setter Hannah Angeli also helped highlight the 2017 season with the most assists by a Brave since 2003.  Angeli’s team-high 22 double-doubles in 2017 tied for the second most in program history at the time and were the most by a Bradley player since Sam Hardwick in 2001. 

The associate head coach and recruiting coordinator her last four seasons at Arkansas, Price-Torok helped the Razorbacks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids in 2012 and 2013. 
 
Prior to her arrival at Arkansas for the 2008 season, the Razorbacks were ranked 140 in the RPI, but climbed to 36 by her fifth season (2012) with the program and earned their first NCAA Tournament spot since 2006 to cap a 22-10 season.  After a 7-23 first season in Fayetteville, Ark., Price-Torok helped Arkansas improve its record in each of the next four seasons, culminating with a 13-7 SEC record and second-place West Division finish in 2012.

The Razorbacks were .500 or better in SEC play in four of her last five seasons and posted a combined 88-66 overall mark over her last five campaigns.
 
Individually, Arkansas produced four All-Americans, five all-region picks and eight All-SEC selections during her tenure.  Price-Torok helped lure the 16th-best recruiting class in the country to Fayetteville, Ark., in 2013 after the 2012 recruiting class was 26th nationally.

A 2005 graduate of Texas A&M, Price-Torok was an assistant coach for the 2006 and 2007 seasons at Texas-San Antonio before moving to Arkansas.  While with the Roadrunners, she helped guide UTSA to a 19-13 overall record during the 2006 season and mentored a pair of First-Team All-Southland Conference selections.
 
Price-Torok ventured into coaching upon wrapping up her collegiate career at Texas A&M, serving as an assistant coach at Southwestern University during the 2005 season.  In her one season in Georgetown, Texas, she helped the Pirates to the NCAA Division III Tournament and coached an all-region performer in addition to two individuals who garnered all-conference honors.
 
During her collegiate career, she was part of four consecutive NCAA Tournament teams at Texas A&M and started her final two years at outside hitter after playing middle blocker as a freshman and sophomore for the Aggies.  The team’s 2003 offensive MVP, Price-Torok was selected as Big XII Player of the Week twice during her senior year and was a Second-Team Big XII Scholar-Athlete that same season.  She helped the Aggies to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2001 along with a Sweet 16 appearance in 2003.
 
Off the court, she served as a student-athlete advisory committee representative at Texas A&M and also lettered for the Aggies women’s basketball team during the 2003-04 season.
 
Originally from Fenton, Mich., Price-Torok and her husband Matt have two children: Jaxen and Kaden.