EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Junior Katrina Goncher (Batavia, Ill./Aurora Rosary) had a career-best 16 kills and attacked at a .353 clip, but Evansville rebounded from a first-game loss to take the final three sets as Bradley ended the road portion of its schedule with a 30-25, 18-30, 27-30, 25-30 Missouri Valley Conference loss to the Purple Aces.

Goncher tied for match-high honors with her career-high 16 kills and added five blocks, while hitting .353 to pace four Bradley players in double figures in kills. Freshman Melissa Collins (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South) added 13 kills and a season-high 16 digs, while senior Jenna Harrison Edwardsville, Ill./Metro East Lutheran) was also in double figures with 12 kills. Freshman Emily Austin (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) tallied 10 kills to help highlight things offensively.

The Braves (3-26 overall, 2-14 MVC) trailed 8-6 in the opening game, when Evansville committed six attack errors to highlight an 11-1 Bradley run that gave BU control of the game. Bradley would cruise to a 30-25 victory, hitting .243 as a team in the opener, while limiting Evansville to a -.027 attack percentage

Evansville (13-14 overall, 6-10 MVC) dominated game two and evened the match with a 30-18 win. The Purple Aces rebounded with their best offensive game of the match, while holding the Braves to an .049 attack percentage.

A late Evansville push in game three helped the Purple Aces to a 30-27 win and two games to one lead. Evansville was clinging to a 25-24 lead, when Sally Kelepka found the floor with a kill and a pair of Bradley errors pushed the Purple Aces lead to 28-24. Sophomore Amy Reichel (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) and Collins notched back-to-back kills to make it a two-point game (28-26) , but Ginta Gabruseva had a pair of kills to close out the 30-27 UE victory.

Game four included 10 ties and three lead changes before Evansville eventually made another late push to pull out a 30-25 win to close out the match. Goncher and Austin recorded a block to tie the game at 23-23, before Anne Teegardin entered the match for the first time and tallied all three of her kills in the closing moments to help Aces seize control. Teegardin's first kill of the night was followed by a Bradley attack error and another Teegardin kill that gave UE a 26-23 lead.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Comiskey (Crystal Lake, Ill./South) responded with a kill to end the short Evansville spurt, but another Teegardin kill was followed by an Evansville ace that pushed the lead to 28-24. Goncher had another kill, but Evansville's Megan Spurlock answered with her 16th kill of the night and a service ace to seal a 30-25 victory for the Purple Aces.

Bradley hit .167 in the match and had a 71-66 edge in digs, but Evansville held a 13.5 to seven advantage in blocks and hit .188 as a team. Spurlock tied Goncher for match-high honors with 16 kills. Julie Walroth helped highlight the Evansville defensive efforts with 22 digs.

The Braves return to action Friday when they play host to Missouri State at 7 p.m. at Robertson Memorial Field House.