PEORIA, Ill. -- After dropping two of the first three games of the match and falling behind 20-11 in the fourth game to Western Illinois, it appeared Bradley was on track to lose its opener at the 2006 Radisson Hotel Invitational. Senior Kelly Niemeyer had other plans, however, as she helped spark a rally attempt that saw Bradley take game four 32-30 and cruise to a 15-8 victory in the fifth game to improve BU's record to 2-2 with a 29-31, 30-26, 28-30, 32-30, 15-8 victory Friday night at Robertson Memorial Field House.

Western Illinois led two games to one and held a 20-11 lead after a Bradley attack error. Niemeyer, who finished with career highs of 27 kills and 27 digs, recorded five of her eight game-four kills during an 11-3 Bradley run that pulled the Braves to within one point at 23-22. Bradley eventually pulled even at 25-25 and closed out the match with a kill by Amy McFarland and a Western Illinois attack error to even the match at two games each with a 32-30 victory.

Bradley (2-2 overall) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in game five and cruised to a 15-8 victory to win its fourth consecutive five-game match. Western Illinois (0-4 overall) combined for a .182 hitting percentage in the first three games, but the Braves defense tightened in the final two frames, limiting the Westerwinds to a combined .029 hitting percentage in the final two games.

Niemeyer had a career night, collecting match and career bests of 27 kills and 27 digs. She also added a team-high three service aces and five blocks. Fellow senior Jennifer Bohan also added a career-high 18 digs, helping the Braves own an 87-82 edge in digs. Sophomore Sam Black added her first career double-double, finishing with 58 assists and 13 digs. Senior Amber DeBroux and junior Nikki Pierzchala were also in double figures in kills with 16 and 13, respectively.

The Braves helped Western Illinois stay in the match, committing 11 service errors, 13 ball handling errors and 13 reception errors. Bradley boasted a .223 attack percentage for the match, compared to just .126 for the Westerwinds.

Western Illinois had just one player reach double figures in kills, with Amy Sauerwein leading the Westerwinds offensively with 10 kills. Bradley extended its win streak in the series with Western Illinois to eight matches, dating back to the 1996 season.

In the other match of the day, Cincinnati (3-1 overall) defeated Austin Peay (0-5 overall) in three games (30-28, 30-21, 30-15).

The Radisson Hotel Invitational wraps up Saturday with four matches. Western Illinois and Cincinnati kick the day off at 11 a.m. and will be followed by Bradley and Austin Peay at 1 p.m. The evening session begins with Western Illinois facing Austin Peay at 4:30 and the day concludes with Cincinnati taking on the Braves at 7 p.m. at Robertson Memorial Field House.