EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Sophomore Emily Austin (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) recorded a team-high 11 kills and hit .318, but Bradley couldn't keep pace with Evansville's offense as the Purple Aces topped the Braves 25-13, 25-23, 25-22 Friday in Missouri Valley Conference volleyball action at the Carson Center.

The Aces got off to a quick start, hitting .436 in the opening set and cruised to a 25-13 win. The Braves (5-20 overall, 1-11 MVC) trailed 9-8 when Evansville (12-12 overall, 6-5 MVC) broke things open with a 10-2 run en route to the first set victory.

Bradley led 20-18 in the second set, before the Purple Aces would rally. Consecutive kills by Sally Kulupka opened up a 5-1 UE spurt which gave Evansville a 23-21 lead. The Braves trailed 24-23, but Ginta Gabruseva closed out the set with one of her match-high 12 kills to give the Purple Aces a 25-23 win.

Evansville held a 22-19 lead in the third set when Austin followed an Evansville attack error with a kills to make it a one-point deficit at 22-21. Emily Wandersee put UE back in front by two points with a kill and Brooke Maher followed with a kill of her own to push the Aces advantage to 24-21. Austin would find the floor with another kill, making it a one-point deficit (24-22), when Maher would tally her 12th kill of the evening to close out the 25-22 UE victory.

Bradley hit .149 as a team on the night, compared to Evansville's .314 attack percentage. Austin led the Braves with 11 kills, while junior Amy Reichel (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) added nine kills. Freshman Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) posted a team-high 11 digs.

Three Evansville player reached double figures in kills as Gabruseva and Maher tied for match-high honors with 12 kills each. Kulupka added 11 kills, while Wandersee contributed nine kills and five blocks. Julie Sylvester led the Evansville defensive efforts with a match-high 23 digs.

Bradley returns to action Saturday with a 7 p.m. match at Southern Illinois.