PEORIA, Ill. -- Junior Amy Reichel (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) tallied a team-high 10 kills while freshman Meghan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) added nine kills and six blocks, but it wasn't enough to lead the Bradley volleyball team (3-8 overall, 0-1 MVC) to victory as the Braves opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 20-25, 14-25, 25-23, 24-26 loss to Creighton Friday night at Lorene Ramsey Gym.

Creighton (4-4 overall, 1-0) opened the match hot, hitting over .300 in both of the first two sets. The Bluejays hit .324 in the opening set and followed it up with .379 attack percentage in the second set. Bradley struggled offensively in the first two sets, hitting a combined .032.

The Bluejays took control of the opening set with a 7-1 run midway through the frame to take an 18-12 lead. The Braves would pull to within four points on several occassions, before Creighton closed out a 25-20 win.

Bradley got off to a slow start in the second set, spotting the Bluejays the first nine points. Creighton extended the lead to as many as 11 points (21-10) and cruised to a 25-14 victory.

The third set featured four lead changes and 10 ties before the Braves were able to pull out a 25-23 win to force a fourth set. With the score knotted at 22-22, Reichel notched a kill to give the Braves a 23-22 lead and a Creighton attack error pushed BU's advantage to 24-22. Laurel Sanford found the floor with a kill for Creighton, but a Bluejay service error handed Bradley a 25-23 win.

It appeared the Braves were going to force a fifth set when a Reichel kill gave Bradley a 23-19 fourth-set lead. Creighton would rally, scoring four consecutive points to tie the score at 23-23. Junior Kaitlyn Comiskey (Crystal Lake, Ill./South) pushed BU back in front (24-23) with a kill, but Carolyn Decker countered with a kill for the Bluejays to tie the score again at 24-24. Decker notched another kill on the next play to put CU ahead 25-24 and Laurel Sanford served up an ace as Creighton closed out the match with a 26-24 victory in the fourth set.

Reichel was the only Bradley player in double figures in kills with 10. Schmidt chipped in nine kills and hit a team-best .375 while also adding six blocks. Freshman Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) helped lead the Braves defensive efforts with a match-high 16 digs.

Allie Oelke led Creighton with 14 kills, while Jessica Houts added 10 kills. Bluejay setter Korie Lebeda recorded a double-double with 40 assists and 12 digs to go along with three kills and three blocks.

Bradley returns to action Saturday when the Braves play host to Drake at 4 p.m. at Lorene Ramsey Gym.