MACOMB, Ill. – Sophomore Kelsey Cave (Solon, Iowa/Solon) notched a career-high 12 kills and Melissa Hoerber (Fulton, Mo./Fulton) added a season-best 16 digs., but Western Illinois held off the Braves for a 25-17, 12-25, 25-17, 25-23 victory Tuesday at Western Hall.

Bradley (0-7 overall) held an 11-8 lead in the first set after one of Jamie Livaudais' (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit) four kills in the frame, before Western Illinois (1-6 overall) rallied to pull out a 25-17 win.  A 7-0 Leatherneck run opened a 13-2 WIU spurt as Bradley fell behind 21-13.  Western Illinois hit .355 and collected three aces in the 25-17 opening set victory.

The Braves led from start to finish in the second frame, jumping out to an 8-1 lead behind three kills and a block from Cave.  Bradley extended the lead to 12 points at 17-5 on a WIU attack error and led by as many as 13 points (24-11) on Cave's fourth kills of the set.  A 25-12 Bradley victory in the second set evened the match.

After falling behind 13-8 in the third set, Bradley answered with four consecutive points to pull within one point at 13-12.  The Leathernecks responded with an 8-2 spurt of their own, however, which featured three kills and block by Ann Miller.  Western Illinois went on to take the third set 25-17.

In the fourth set, Bradley jumped out to a 6-0 advantage, but Western Illinois chipped away at the deficit and pulled even at 17-17.  Miller, who had seven kills for WIU in the fourth set, put the Leathernecks in front 18-17 with a kill and the teams were later knotted at 23-23.  A Peyton Crosser kill gave Western Illinois a 24-23 advantage and Samantha Fournier capped the Leathernecks win with a kill.

Cave finished with a career-best 12 kills and hit .550 in the match to go with her team-best three blocks.  Hoerber was one of five Bradley players to reach double figures in digs, finishing with a season-high 16.  Freshmen Afton Sobasky (Inver Grove Heights , Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) and Taylor Thiele (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) each collected double-doubles for the second straight match.  Sobasky had 34 assists and 11 digs, while Thiele added 10 kills and 12 digs. 

Miller paced Western Illinois with a match-high 15 kills, while Crosser was also in double figures with 14 kills for the Leathernecks. 

Bradley will play its home opener Friday at 7 p.m. against Miami (Ohio) as part of the CEFCU Classic.  The tournament opens Friday at 4:30 p.m. with UMKC facing North Dakota State at Renaissance Coliseum.