ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Senior Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) tallied 12 kills and three blocks to lead Bradley, but the Braves were unable to keep pace with a hot-hitting Saint Louis team as BU concluded the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 22-25, 19-25, 23-25 loss against the Billikens Saturday.

Angelos earned all-tournament honors for the third consecutive week, leading the Braves with 12 kills.  Saint Louis (5-6 overall) hit .330 as a team and notched 9.5 blocks, while holding Bradley (6-3 overall) to a .174 attack percentage in the three-set victory.

Despite the Billikens hitting .405 in the first set, Bradley was able to keep things close in the opener, which featured 12 ties and six lead changes.  The Braves pulled even for the final time at 21-21 on an Allie Falter (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) kill, before Saint Louis used a 4-1 spurt to take the set 25-22.  Mallory Dillon had two kills and a block to highlight the Billikens run.

The Braves led early in the second set, holding a 10-8 advantage after a Lea Sack (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) kill.  Saint Louis answered with a 7-1 run to go in front 15-11, but Bradley fought back and trailed 17-16 after a Billiken attack error.  Megan Gilbert fueled an 8-3 Saint Louis run to end the 25-19 Billiken victory with three blocks and a kill.

Saint Louis used a run midway through the third set to pull away, breaking a 10-10 tie with a 5-0 spurt.  Bradley held off four match points for the Billikens, with Angelos notching two kills and a block to pull the Braves within one point 24-23.  Danielle Rygelski ended the match, however, finding the floor with her ninth kill of the third set as Saint Louis completed the sweep with a 25-23 win.

Angelos averaged a team-best 4.18 kills per set at the Billiken Challenge and took home all-tournament honors for the third consecutive week.  Senior Lauren Zerante (Elmhurst, Ill./York) had a match-high 16 digs in the setback to help lead the BU defensive efforts.  She moved into 14th on Bradley's career digs list and now has 980 career digs after passing Briony Hammet (979 career digs) on the all-time chart.

Rygelski hit .452 and had a match-high 18 kills to lead Saint Louis to the victory.  Dillon added 13 kills and 12 digs to help pace the Billikens. 

Bradley opens Missouri Valley Conference play Sunday, Sept. 22 with a 2 p.m. match against Drake at Renaissance Coliseum.  Children in attendance will be able to have their faces painted in the Braves Fun Zone.  After the match, children ages 5-14 can join the team for a free post-game clinic.  Participants are asked to pre-register for the hour-long clinic which will include skill instruction from Bradley head coach Jenny Maurer and the Braves by emailing the names and ages to busportsmarketing@bradley.edu by Friday, Sept. 20.