Box Score PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Lindsay Stalzer tied her own school record for kills in a three-game match with 29 and became just the third player in Missouri Valley Conference history to record 600 kills in a season as she helped lead Bradley to a 30-23, 30-28, 30-25 victory over Indiana State Saturday evening in Valley volleyball action at Robertson Memorial Field House.
Bradley (15-13 overall, 8-6 MVC) hit .372 on the night and held a 57-42 edge in digs on the Sycamores, who fell to 0-26 overall, 0-15 in Valley play.
Stalzer’s 29 kills tied her own school mark for a three-game match, which she set earlier this season against Butler. She also joined Missouri State’s Michelle Witzke and Tracy Stroyan of Illinois State as the only players in Valley history to record 600 kills in a season. Stalzer has 606 kills on the year with four matches remaining in the regular season and needs 62 kills to break Witzke’s Valley season record of 667 kills set in 1997.
Junior Amber DeBroux joined Stalzer in double figures for the Braves, tallying 12 on the night as she also boasted a .455 attack percentage. The duo combined for 41 of Bradley’s 61 kills and hit .427 against Indiana State.
Stalzer and DeBroux highlighted game one for the Braves, posting 12 and five kills respectively. Indiana State hit .293 in the opening frame, but Bradley boasted a .486 attack percentage and outdug the Sycamores 20-9 to cruise to a 30-23 win.
In game two, Stalzer was the only Brave to post more than three kills as she collected nine in a close 30-28 victory. Indiana State’s defense cooled off Bradley’s attack in the second game, limiting the Braves to a .222 hitting percentage, but the Sycamores managed just a .213 hitting percentage and committed 11 errors in the game compared to Bradley’s eight.
A much more balanced attack in game three helped the Braves cruise to a 30-25 victory in the third set to close out the match. Stalzer finished with eight kills and hit .438 in the game, but five other Braves had two or more kills in the game, with DeBroux added five kills. Bradley hit .436 as a team in the final frame and held an 18-12 edge in digs in game three.
Sophomore Nikki Pierzchala led the Braves defensive efforts with a team-high 10 digs in just two games of action. Senior Briony Hammet collected the 800th kill of her career, making her the sixth player in program history with 800 kills, 800 digs and 100 aces in a career. Fellow senior Ashley Vance also reached a milestone, recording the 3,500th assist of her career.
Tessa Wolf led Indiana State with 20 kills, as she hit an impressive .424 on the evening. Christy Trame added 14 kills for the Sycamores.
Bradley returns to action next Friday at Missouri State at 7 p.m. in Springfield, Mo.
