Box Score CARBONDALE, Ill. - Bradley entered Saturday afternoon's match at Southern Illinois looking for it's third consecutive victory, but the Salukis limited the Braves to an .057 attack percentage and used a balanced offensive attack to top BU in four sets (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-12) at Davies Gym.
The Braves (6-20 overall, 1-12 MVC) trailed 13-12 in the first set when Southern Illinois (14-8 overall, 5-7 MVC) took control. SIU's Jennifer Berwanger highlighted a 7-2 Saluki spurt with two kills and a block to put Southern Illinois in front 20-14. The Salukis went on to take the opening set 25-19.
Bradley rebounded with a 25-21 second-set victory to even the match. SIU led 20-19 when junior Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) sparked a 6-1 BU run with a kill and a block. Schmidt later added another kill as she helped the Braves win the set by the score of 25-21.
Southern Illinois had to rally late in the third set after Bradley led by as many as four points (19-15). The Braves held a 22-20 advantage when the Salukis used a 5-1 push to take the set 25-23 and go in front two sets to one. Alicia Johnson tallied a kill and a Bradley attack error pulled SIU even at 22-22. The teams traded kills and Johnson put Southern Illinois in front with another kill. Jasmine Conner put the finishing touches on a 25-23 SIU victory with her sixth kill of the set.
In the fourth set, the Braves pulled to within one point at 11-10 when the Salukis used an 11-0 run to pull away from the Braves. Berwanger highlighted the SIU spurt with back-to-back kills to help Southern Illinois build a 22-10 advantage. The Salukis went on to close out the match with a 25-12 victory.
Freshman Lauren Zerante (Elmhurst, Ill./York) led the Braves with 11 kills and added 12 digs for her team-leading third double-double of the year. Schmidt finished with a team-high four blocks to go along with nine kills as she became the 27th player in program history to record 600 career kills. Junior Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) tied for match-high honors with 20 digs to lead five BU players in double figures in digs. Sophomore Shelly Mueller (Mount Prospect, Ill./John Hersey/Marquette) finished with 35 assists and a season-best 13 digs.
Berwanger hit .300 and tallied a match-high 15 kills to lead SIU. Alysia Mayes added 12 kills and five blocks, while Johnson notched 11 kills to help highlight the Salukis' offensive attack. Lauren Blumhorst tied Dejean for match high honors with 20 digs for Southern Illinois.
Bradley returns to action Friday when the Braves open the final homestand of the year with a 7 p.m. match against 13th-ranked Northern Iowa at Renaissance Coliseum.
