Box Score EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Amy Reichel (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) and junior Caitlin Staib (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) tied for team-high honors with nine kills, but Bradley couldn't keep pace with I-74 rival Illinois State as the Redbirds topped the Braves 25-18, 25-22, 25-19 Saturday at Lorene Ramsey Gym.
Illinois State (11-15 overall, 6-9 MVC) used a potent offensive attack, hitting .340 as a team, while limiting Bradley (9-19 overall, 0-14 MVC) to a .147 attack percentage.
The Redbirds got out of the gates strong, boasting a .467 hitting percentage in the opening set. Mallory Leggett collected seven of her match-high 17 kills on just eight swings in the first frame. The Braves trailed 21-18 when Leggett notched her seventh kill of the set. She followed it up with an ace and assisted on a Jessica Pratapas kill, before sealing a 25-18 Redbird win with her second ace of the set.
Bradley trailed 21-20 in the second set after a Staib kill, when Illinois State's Katie Culbertson tallied back-to-back kills to push the ISU lead to 23-20. The Braves were behind 24-22 following another Staib kill, but Hailey Kelley and Angela Rego combined for a block to close out a 25-22 ISU win.
Illinois State used an early 9-1 run in the third set to take an 11-4 lead. Bradley chipped away at the Redbird advantage, eventually trimming the deficit to 17-14. Rego found the floor with back-to-back kills and followed up a Staib kill with her fifth of the set to push the ISU lead to 20-15. The Braves were behind 22-17 when Leggett recorded her sixth kill of the third set to push the advantage to 23-17 and Bradley would get no closer as the Redbirds closed out the match with a 25-19 victory.
Reichel and Staib led Bradley's offensive efforts with nine kills each. Reichel moved into 15th place on Bradley's career kills list, passing Amber DeBroux (844 kills) and Mary Kay Schmidt (849), as she moved her career kill total to 852. Staib hit .300 and tied for match-high honors with four blocks, while sophomore Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) added seven kills, one ace, six digs and four blocks.
Leggett paced Illinois State with 17 kills, while attacking at a .556 clip. Rego added 12 kills and Culbertson chipped in with eight kills for the Redbirds. Kasey Mollerus led the Redbirds' defensive efforts with a match-high 15 digs.
Bradley returns to action Friday when the Braves open the final road swing of the 2009 season with a 7 p.m. match at defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion Wichita State.
