Box Score NORMAL, Ill. - Bradley lost a tightly contested first set and was unable to keep pace with Illinois State in the next two sets as the Braves fell 24-26, 13-25, 11-25 at Redbird Arena in the first meeting in the annual series of the I-74 rivalry.
After hitting .161 as a team in the opening set, Bradley (9-11 overall, 0-6 MVC) had 18 kills while committing 21 attack errors in the final two frames. Illinois State (8-10 overall, 3-4 MVC) posted a .196 hitting percentage in the first set, before heating up and hitting a combined .380 in the final two.
The Braves fell behind 23-21 in the opening set, but battled back to have set point at 24-23. An Illinois State attack error was followed by a block by junior Caitlin Staib (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and a kill by junior Annie Cave (Easton, Ill./Illini Central) to give BU the 24-23 advantage. Hailey Kelley tied the score with her sixth kill of the set and a pair of Bradley attack errors gave the Redbirds a 26-24 come-from-behind victory. Staib collected five kills and sophomore Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) tallied 10 digs during the first set.
Illinois State scored the first four points of the second set and jumped out to a 6-1 advantage. The Redbirds collected six blocks and scored 13 of their points in the set on Bradley attack errors. The Braves hit -.100 in the frame compared to .348 for Illinois State as the Redbirds posted a 25-13 win.
Bradley was unable to keep pace with Illinois State in the third set. The Redbirds built an early 11-3 lead and hit .407 in the frame en route to a 25-11 victory.
Staib and junior Melissa Collins (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South) paced the Braves offensively with seven kills each. Sophomore Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had a team-best 13 digs.
Kelley tied a career-high with 11 kills on just 21 swings, hitting at a .524 clip to lead Illinois State Tabitha Visk added nine kills while boasting a .438 attack percentage. The Redbirds hit .283 as a team, while the Braves hit .046 and where outblocked by Illinois State 11-1.
Bradley returns to action Saturday when the Braves face Indiana State in a 6 p.m. match in Terre Haute, Ind. Saturday's contest against the Sycamores will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 96.5 FM with the pre-game show starting at 5:50 p.m.
