Box Score PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Amy Reichel (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) tallied a match-high 11 kills in the final home match of her career, but the Braves were unable to keep pace with Creighton as the Bluejays topped Bradley 25-15, 25-13, 25-18 Saturday at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. The match was the final home contest for Reichel and fellow seniors Kaitlyn Comiskey (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake) and Lyndi Senkpiel (Chicago, Ill./St. Joseph).
Creighton used a potent offensive attack, hitting .349 and controlled play at the net; outblocking the Braves 9-0 on the night. The Bluejays led from start to finish in the first set and cruised to a 25-15 win. Bradley (9-23 overall, 0-18 MVC) fell behind 13-5 and never got within five points the remainder of the set. Reichel notched four of her 11 kills in the opening frame, while attacking at a .333 clip.
Much like the first set, Creighton jumped out to out an early lead in the second set. The Bluejays scored the first five points of the frame en route to an 11-1 lead. The Braves struggled against Creighton's defense as the Bluejays posted a 19-14 edge in digs and collected three blocks in the second set. Creighton hit .355 in the second set and took a two sets to none lead behind a 25-13 victory.
The Bluejays (13-16 overall, 10-8 MVC) used a five-point spurt midway through the third set to break open a 13-13 tie. Allie Oelke keyed the Creighton run with a pair of kills and a block assist to give the Bluejays an 18-13 lead. Bradley trimmed the advantage to three points (18-15) after a Caitlin Staib (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) kill and and a Creighton ball handling error, but that would be as close as the Braves would get. The Bluejays answered with three straight points and eventually closed out the match with a 25-18 win.
Reichel had a match-high 11 kills, while hitting at a .308 clip. She finished her career 15th on Bradley's career kills list with 895 in her four seasons on The Hilltop. Comiskey started the match and had four digs as she ended her career tied for 15th in school history with 897 career digs. Sophomore Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) added six kills and 10 digs. Fellow sophomore Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) paced BU's defensive efforts with 15 digs.
Creighton used a balanced attack with four players recording seven or more kills. Jessica Houts and Oelke led the Bluejays with nine kills each. Oekle added a match-high 16 digs, while Houts hit a blistering .500. Alicia Runge chipped in with eight kills, while Sarah Schulze added seven kills and 11 digs.
