After going 1-8 in the first half of the conference season, the Bradley volleyball team could have given up, but that isn’t the character of the team. Four games into the second half of conference, the team has tied the win total from the first, and playing much more competitively.
Coach Torok directs where she wants a serve to go.
“I think I’d be lying if I said we weren’t a little frustrated,” Coach Carol Price-Torok said when asked about the attitude going into the rest of the season. “It can be kind of frustrating to the players because we are not seeing the immediate results from the work we’re doing.”
That feeling of frustration changed with a five set road loss against Missouri State and a five set road win against Southern Illinois University.
The Bradley volleyball team is now optimistic heading into the second half of the conference season after seeing results from that Missouri State and SIU weekend.
Braves huddle and celebrate after earned point.
“That win, and that weekend as a whole, felt incredible; We showed so much heart. It was like seeing all of the pieces fall into place for the first time,” Junior Middle Blocker Alissa Schovanec said.
By no means are the Braves out of the conference tournament picture. Only six of 10 teams in the conference make it, and the Braves are sitting in ninth. However, they are only two games back from SIU and Evansville and 3.5 games back of sixth place Indiana State.
The Braves have Loyola, who they are ahead of in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, and Valparaiso on the road, and Illinois State, Evansville, and Indiana State at home left on the schedule.
Senior Taylor Thiele serves against Drake.
“You can’t really underestimate any team in our conference. That’s why I think there is an opportunity for a win against anyone really,” Senior Outside Hitter Taylor Thiele said.
They would have to win four of the five remaining games, but looking at who they play, the Braves could make a run. If they pull off the four wins, they could get themselves back into the Conference Tournament picture.
“I like to remain optimistic. I think that it’ll be tough but if we play well together we can do it,” Thiele said.
Although the Braves put up good fights in the first round of conference action, the team still has some work to do in order to get back into the postseason picture.
“I think our serving and passing needs to stay more consistent. We have streaks where our serving is really, really great and we need to continue to serve tough so it helps us on defense,” Coach Torok said.
As for individual improvements, the players are looking to improve their game in order to help the team as well.
Junior Alissa Schovanec jumps for a block against Drake.
“Personally, I want to work on scoring more. I think I’ve been able to get my blocking in check from the beginning of the season, and now my attention is on my offense and my consistency,” Schovanec said.
Coach Torok addresses the team during a timeout.
Since the big win at SIU, the Braves had two tough matchups at home against Drake (3rd in MVC) and nationally ranked Northern Iowa (#25 and 2nd in MVC) where they were beat in three straight sets in both games.
They will look to rebound against Loyola and Valparaiso beginning Friday and continuing on to Saturday.