PEORIA, Ill. -- Freshman Melissa Hoerber (Fulton, Mo./Fulton) turned in her third double-double of the year and sophomore Kristi Chynoweth (Parkland, Fla./North Broward) owned a .389 attack percentage to go with eight kills, but Bradley couldn't keep up with a balanced Illinois State offensive attack as the Redbirds took the first meeting of the annual I-74 rivalry 25-18, 25-19, 25-16 Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum.

Chynoweth and senior Alise Tupuritis (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) tied for match-high honors with eight kills each to lead Bradley (9-5 overall, 3-2 MVC).  Illinois State (12-4 overall, 5-0 MVC) had four individuals with seven or more kills and also tallied 11 blocks as the Redbirds kept pace with league co-leader Wichita State in the Valley standings with the victory.

Illinois State's LeighAnn Hranka had five kills and six blocks in the opening set to help power the Redbirds take the first set 25-18.  Hranka had three blocks and a pair of kills to highlight a 10-0 ISU run which put Illinois State in front 22-10.  The Redbirds held set point at 24-11, but Chynoweth and Tupuritis each had two kills during a 7-0 Bradley run which cut the ISU lead to 24-18.  Hranka closed out the set on the next serve, however, with her fifth kill of the frame.

The second set was close throughout before a late Illinois State run put things out of reach for the Braves.  Bradley held a 17-16 lead after an ISU service error and the score was knotted at 18-18 after another Redbird service error.  Emily Schneider broke the tie with a kill and three consecutive Bradley attack errors helped fuel a 7-1 ISU spurt as the Redbirds claimed a 25-19 victory.

An 8-1 Illinois State run midway through the third set gave the Redbirds a commanding 20-9 lead, but Bradley later came up with a 5-0 run of its own.  Freshman Rachel Jones (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) sparked the run with a kill and ended the spurt with a block as Bradley cut the deficit to six (21-15).  A BU service error ended the run and Illinois State went on to complete the sweep with a 25-16 win.

Hoerber finished with 17 assists and a season-best 12 digs to post her third double-double of the year.  Chynoweth had eight kills and just one attack error, while hitting .389 and Tupuritis also tied for match-high honors with eight kills.  Senior Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) was the only other Bradley player to have more than five kills, finishing the night with seven kills to push her career total to 998.

Fellow senior Lauren Zerante (Elmhurst, Ill./York) helped Bradley to a 61-57 advantage in digs, collecting a team-high 15.  Zerante passed Lisa LaMontagne (1,061 digs) for 12th on the Bradley career list and now has 1,071 as a Brave.

Hranka had eight kills with no errors and also added eight blocks to lead Illinois State.  Stacey Niao also had eight kills, while Schneider and Ashley Rosch each added seven kills to pace the Redbirds. 

Bradley continues a season-long, four-match home stand Tuesday with a 7 p.m. match against Northern Iowa.