PEORIA, Ill. -- After hitting .467 in the opening set and taking an early lead in the match with a 25-17 first-set win, Bradley couldn't keep pace with a hot-hitting UT-Martin team which rallied for a 17-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-19 victory against the Braves to wrap up the 2013 CEFCU Classic Saturday night at Renaissance Coliseum

UT-Martin (2-1 overall) claimed the CEFCU Classic title on a tie-breaker with the win over Bradley (2-1 overall).  Senior Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) hit .429, while tying for match-high honors with 15 kills to lead the Braves and fellow senior Lauren Zerante (Elmhurst, Ill./York) added 24 digs in the first setback of the season.

Bradley raced out to a 4-1 lead in the first set and led by as many as nine points (19-10) in the opening stanza en route to a convincing 25-17 victory.  The Braves hit .467 in the first set, collecting 16 kills with just two hitting errors.  Angelos notched four of her team-best 15 kills in the first set and also had four digs to help highlight the win.

The second set was a much different story, with UT-Martin tallying four blocks and holding Bradley to an .028 attack percentage in the set.  The Skyhawks countered with a .361 attack percentage in the second frame and evened the match with a 25-16 second-set win, which featured five kills from Emily Keaton.

Bradley had set point in the third set at 24-23 before UT Martin rallied to take the frame 26-24.  The third set featured seven lead changes and 14 ties with the Skyhawks rallying for the narrow win.  Sophomore Jessie Tulacka (Westmont, Ill./Downers Grove South) found the floor with her fifth kill of the set to give the Braves a 24-23 advantage, but three straight Bradley attack errors gave UT Martin the set and the lead in the match

The fourth set was tight early on and the Braves trailed 15-13 midway through the frame after an Angelos kill, before three consecutive UT Martin points opened an 8-2 Skyhawk spurt which pushed the UTM lead to 23-15.  The Skyhawks went on to close out the match and claim the tournament title with a 25-19 fourth-set victory.

Angelos, who earned a spot on the CEFCU Classic all-tournament team, had 15 kills and a career-high eight digs in the loss.  She averaged 3.91 kills per set and attacked at a .434 clip in the three tournament matches to lead the Braves.  Zerante tied for match-high honors with 24 digs and finished the opening weekend of the season averaging 6.00 digs per set to lead Bradley's defensive efforts.  Tulacka added 10 kills for the Braves Saturday night against UTM.

Keaton was one of three UT-Martin players to reach double figures in kills, matching Angelos' 15 kills.  Allie Whimpey and Julie Devinney each chipped in with 12 kills and libero Chelsea Bowles tied Zerante for match high honors with 24 digs.  Bowles averaged 5.27 digs per set for the Skyhawks and garnered tournament MVP honors, while Keaton joined her on the all-tournament team for UTM.

Western Illinois defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 25-17, 17-25, 25-9, 25-10 earlier in the afternoon to wrap up the CEFCU Classic with a 2-1 record.  WIU's Ann Miller and Maryland Eastern Shore's Jingqiao Li were both selected for the all-tournament team.

The full day attendance for Saturday's action at the CEFCU Classic was 972 fans, which ranks as the fifth largest crowd in program history. 

Bradley plays eight of the next nine matches on the road, traveling to Omaha, Neb., next weekend for the Omaha Marriott Classic.  The Braves open tournament play Friday at 4 p.m. against Southern Utah and will face both SIU Edwardsville (10 a.m.) and tournament-host Omaha (5 p.m.) on Saturday.