PEORIA, Ill. -- Northern Illinois used an efficient offensive attack, hitting .393 as a team, to post a 25-20, 25-20, 25-13 victory over the Bradley volleyball team Tuesday night at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. 

The Braves (3-2 overall) hung with the Huskies (4-1 overall) in the early going of the first set, before NIU used an 8-1 burst highlighted by three consecutive kills by Meagan Shoenrock, to take a 19-10 lead. Bradley clawed back into the set, using a 9-3 run of its own to pull to within four points at 23-19. Sophomore Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) helped highlight BU's run with one kill and two blocks, but Bradley ran out of steam after NIU's Meghan Romo found the floor with a kill and the Huskies eventually took the opening set 25-20.  

The second set featured two lead changes and eight ties before Northern Illinois posted a second consecutive 25-20 win. The Braves led early on, but the Huskies battled back and tied the score at 13-13. Bradley trailed 18-17 after a Caitlin Staib (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) kill, but a pair of NIU kills and a BU attack error pushed the Huskies lead to 21-17. NIU held a 22-19 lead when Mary Kurisch had a pair of kills and a block assist to close out a 25-20 victory for the Huskies. 

Bradley struggled to keep pace with Northern Illinois in the third set as the Huskies hit a blistering .464 in the frame en route to a 25-13 victory. The Braves were behind 9-6, when NIU would take control of the set with a 10-5 run to take a 19-11 lead. The Huskies scored five of the final six points in the set to close out the match with the 25-13 win. 

Freshman Alise Tupuritis (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) led the Braves with 10 kills, while hitting at a .308 clip. Bradley hit .210 as a team, compared to .393 for the Huskies.

Cassie Yates led Northern Illinois with 18 kills and boasted a .600 attack percentage. Allison McGlaughlin added 14 kills and 11 digs, while hitting .480 to help pace the Huskies. In addition to a strong offensive attack, Northern Illinois posted a 48-31 edge in digs.

Bradley returns to action Friday afternoon when the Braves open play at the Radford Invitational with a 2 p.m. (CDT) match against South Carolina State in Radford, Va.