Box Score PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley hit .091 as a team and Southern Illinois boasted a .266 attack percentage as the Salukis posted a 25-18, 25-10, 25-23 victory against the Braves Saturday at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. Sophomore Annie Cave (Easton, Ill./Illini Central) led the Braves with eight kills, while sophomore Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had a match-high 14 digs.
Southern Illinois (12-1 overall, 2-1 MVC) used a 5-1 spurt to pull away in the opening set and take an 18-11 lead. Bradley (8-9 overall, 0-4 MVC) got back to within four points (20-16) after a Caitlin Staib (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) kill, but SIU answered with back-to-back kills to go back in front by six points (22-16). Staib recorded a kill and block assist to pull the Braves back to within four at 22-18. The Salukis got a kill from Jennifer Berwanger and a pair of Bradley attack errors gave Southern Illinois a 25-18 opening set win.
The Salukis offense heated up in the second set, with Southern Illinois hitting .444 as a team. Alysia Mayes recorded eight kills in the second frame to highlight a 25-10 SIU victory. Bradley trailed 8-7 after a Staib kill, but the Salukis received three kills each by Berwanger and Mayes during a 12-1 SIU run. A Cave kill put an end to the Saluki run at 20-9, but Southern Illinois scored five of the final six points to finish out the set.
The third set featured four lead changes and six ties, before SIU was able to pull out a 25-23 win. Freshman Madelyn Ervin (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) gave Bradley a 17-16 lead with a kill. The Salukis took a 21-18 lead after a 5-1 SIU spurt, highlighted by a pair of Berwanger kills.
The Braves cut the deficit to one point (23-22) when Berwanger found the floor with her sixth kill of the set to give SIU a 24-22 advantage. Sophomore Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) notched her third consecutive kill for the Braves to once again pull Bradley to within one point (24-23), but Laura Thole closed out a 25-23 victory for the Salukis with her only kill of the night.
Cave paced the Braves with eight kills, while senior Amy Reichel (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) added six kills and six digs. Rachelle Dejean finished with a match-high 14 digs to help lead Bradley's defensive efforts.
Berwanger led Southern Illinois with 14 kills, while attacking at .458 clip. Mayes added 11 kills and hit .409. Rachael Brown finished with 38 assists and eight digs to help highlight the win for the Salukis.
Bradley continues a four-match homestand Friday when the Braves play host to Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. at the Markin Family Student Recreation Center.
