PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley won the first set against Valparaiso, but couldn't keep pace with the Crusaders who claimed the CEFCU Classic title with a four-set victory against the Braves Saturday night.  Senior Caitlin Staib (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) tied a career-high with 12 kills and all-tournament selection Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) also added 12 kills to lead BU.

Schmidt and Staib helped the Braves (4-6 overall) take control of a tightly contested first set as BU took the opener 25-21.  Freshman Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) found the floor with a kill to break an 18-18 tie and Schmidt followed with back-to-back kills.  Schmidt later added her fifth kill of the set to give Bradley a 22-19 lead and Staib chipped in with her fourth and fifth kills of the frame to close out the 25-21 BU win.  The Bradley victory snapped Valpraiso's streak of 12 consecutive sets won. 

Valparaiso (10-1 overall) rallied in the second set, boasting a .406 attack percentage and evened the match with a 25-14 second-set victory.  The Crusaders, which finished with 16 kills in the second set, also capitalized on four aces in the frame.

Attack errors did the Braves in during the third set.  A Sarah Dooms kill put Valpo in front 9-7 and the Crusaders benefited from four consecutive BU attack errors during a 6-0 run.  Valparaiso pushed the lead to as many as 10 points before closing out a 25-16 victory.

Tournament MVP Taylor Root helped Valparaiso slow down Bradley's offense in the fourth set, collecting 12 of her match-high 22 digs in the frame.  With the Braves trailing 10-5, the Crusaders broke things open with a 10-1 run en route to a 25-13 fourth-set win.

Staib tallied 12 kills on 27 attacks with no errors for a .444 attack percentage.  Schmidt earned all-tournament honors after reaching double figures in kills for the third time in the last four outings, as she tied Staib with a team-best 12 kills to go along with a team-high four blocks.  Junior Genevieve Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) recorded her 500th career dig, coming up with a team-best 17 digs.

All-Tournament honoree Tara Diebler led Valparaiso with 15 kills and three blocks, while hitting at a .444 clip.  Katie Britton added 13 kills and Katie Layman was also in double figures with 10 kills.  Setter Jenny Pokorny also earned all-tournament honors after tallying 49 assists, five kills, three aces and eight digs against the Braves.

Earlier in the afternoon Presbyterian (4-4 overall) swept Hofstra (3-8 overall) in three sets 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 to finish second in the tournament behind Valparaiso with a 2-1 record. 

Bradley continues a season-long five-match homestand Friday, when the Braves face Wichita State at 7 p.m. in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams. 

2010 CEFCU Classic All-Tournament Team
Kylee Maneja - Hofstra
Megan Schmidt - Bradley
Amanda Kettles - Presbyterian
Presley Mabrey - Presbyterian
Jenny Pokorny - Valparaiso
Tara Diebler - Valparaiso
Taylor Root - Valparaiso (MVP)