Box Score PEORIA, Ill. -- Junior Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) had a team-best 11 kills and four blocks, while freshman Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) added 10 kills and hit .562 to help power Bradley to a 25-16, 25-23, 25-18 victory against I-74 rival Illinois State Thursday at Renaissance Coliseum. Junior Annie Cave (Easton, Ill./Illini Central) came up big down the stretch and finished with 10 kills and three aces to help the Braves to their first victory against the Redbirds since 2003.
Bradley (7-21 overall, 2-13 MVC) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first set and never trailed as the Braves cruised to a 25-16 opening set victory. Schmidt and Angelos combined for eight kills and hit .667 (8 kills - 0 errors - 12 attack) to help BU to the win. The Braves led 13-10 when Angelos followed a block with back-to-back kills to spark a 12-3 run and push Bradley's lead to 22-13. Sophomore Madelyn Ervin (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) capped the run with back-to-back kills and had four kills and an ace in BU's opening-set win.
The Braves built a 20-15 lead in the second set, before Illinois State would rally. Kristin Stauter served a pair of aces to highlight a 6-0 ISU run which put the Redbirds in front 21-20. Bradley scored consecutive points after a timeout to go back in front and eventually held set point at 24-23 after an Illinois State attack error. Angelos and freshman Lauren Zerante (Elmhurst, Ill./York) sealed the match with a block to close out a 25-23 BU victory.
Cave recorded five kills, two aces and a block in the third set to help the Braves complete their first three-set victory against the Redbirds since the 1994 season. With Bradley leading 16-12, Cave helped highlight a 4-2 BU spurt with three kills and later added one of her two aces in the set to help Bradley push its lead to six points at 22-16. The Braves held a 23-18 advantage when Schmidt found the floor with her team-best 11th kill and an ISU attack error put the finishing touches on a 25-18 Bradley win.
Bradley hit .307 in the match, marking the team's best hitting percentage against a conference opponent since hitting .396 against Missouri State on Nov. 15, 2008. Cave matched her season-high with three aces and helped Bradley serve up six aces to go along with a season-low two service errors. Junior Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led the Braves' defensive efforts with a match-high 19 digs and help BU to slow down the Redbirds offense by helping Bradley to a 53-41 advantage in digs.
Schmidt led the Braves with 11 kills, while Angelos and Cave each joined her in double figures with 10 kills each. The trio combined for 31 of Bradley's 43 kills and hit a combined .424.
Freshman Shannon McGlaughlin paced Illinois State with a match-high 13 kills and hit .333 in the match, while Jenny Menendez led the Redbirds with 13 digs.
Bradley returns to action Saturday when the Braves host Indiana State at 7 p.m. at Renaissance Coliseum in the final home match of the season. Seniors Melissa Collins (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South) and Caitlin Staib (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) will be recognized in a pre-match ceremony.
