Box Score NORMAL, Ill. - Sophomore Madelyn Ervin (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) tallied a match and season-high 13 kills, but Illinois State hit .364 as a team and collected nine aces to top Bradley 25-20, 25-14, 30-28 in the first meeting of the annual I-74 rivalry Sunday afternoon at Redbird Arena.
Both teams performed well offensively in the opening set, with Bradley (4-17 overall, 0-9 MVC) boasting a .345 attack percentage in the frame compared to .343 for Illinois State. Despite the Braves advantage, the difference in the opening set proved to be five Redbird aces, including three by Kristin Stauter, and two ISU blocks. Illinois State's Mallory Leggett had two kills and a block to highlight a 5-2 spurt to close out a 25-20 ISU win.
Ervin scored four of Bradley's first eight points in the second set on kills to help the Braves to an early 8-7 lead. Illinois State (13-9 overall, 3-6 MVC) tallied three blocks during a 12-3 run to go in front 19-10 and eventually took the second set 25-14. The Redbirds heated up to .393, while holding BU to a .133 attack percentage in the second set.
Bradley did not lead in the third set until rallying late to take a 26-25 advantage. The Braves trailed 14-13, when Illinois State's Hailey Kelley capped a 6-1 ISU run with two blocks and a kill to push the Redbird lead to 20-14. ISU was in front 23-17 when junior Annie Cave (Easton, Ill./Illini Central) sparked a 7-1 BU run with a kill to help Bradley tie things up at 24-24.
The teams traded points, before Ervin gave Bradley its first lead of the set at 26-25 with a kill. The Braves held set points again at 27-26 and 28-27 after kills by Ervin and junior Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic), but Illinois State would rally. Kelley tied things at 28-28 with her fifth kill of the set and a Leggett kill put ISU ahead 29-28.
Illinois State's Shannon McGlaughlin closed out the match with a kill to put the finishing touches on a 30-28 Redbird win to complete the sweep. The trio of Ervin, Cave and freshman Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) helped fuel the Braves rally attempt, combining for 15 kills while attacking at a .394 clip.
Ervin finished with a season and match-high 13 kills to lead the Braves, while Cave and Angelos each added nine kills. Angelos hit .412 in the match and Cave had just one attack error on 20 swings to finish with a .400 attack percentage. Junior Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led Bradley's defensive efforts with 14 digs.
Tabitha Visk and McGlaughlin paced Illinois State with 12 kills each with Leggett joining the duo in double figures with 10 kills. Stauter collected four kills, 41 assists, four aces and 10 digs to help lead the Redbirds.
Bradley returns to action Friday when the Braves open a three-match homestand with a 7 p.m. match against Creighton at Renaissance Coliseum.
