PEORIA, Ill. -- Illinois State had just five hitting errors and the Redbirds hit a blistering .406 as Bradley fell 25-13, 25-23, 25-15 Saturday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum in the second match of a three-match home stand for the Braves. 

Senior Cordelia Murphy (Marseilles, Ill./Marquette) had a team-best eight kills to lead Bradley, while freshman Erica Haslag (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias Catholic) added seven kills, seven digs and two aces.  Senior Lea Sack (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) notched a match-high 14 digs to help pace the Braves.

Illinois State, the defending regular-season Missouri Valley Conference champion, opened up the first set with a 4-1 spurt and pushed the lead to eight at 12-4.  The Redbirds (13-6 overall, 3-3 MVC) hit .375 in the opener and cruised to a 25-13 win behind five kills on eight swings from Aly Dawson. 

Bradley (5-13 overall, 0-6 MVC) held an early lead in the second set and held a 15-14 lead on an Allison Turner (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) kill.  Illinois State rallied to go in front by four, however, before a push by the Braves.  With Bradley trailing 22-18, Murphy had a kill and Haslag had an ace to make it a two-point contest at 22-20. 

The Redbirds had an ace and service error and a Taylor Thiele (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) ace pulled the Braves within one (23-22).  The teams traded kills, but a bad set by Bradley ended the run as Illinois State took the frame 25-23.  Haslag, Turner and sophomore Jamie Livaudais (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit) each had four kills for Bradley in the second set. 

Illinois State used an early 8-1 run early in the third set to build a 10-3 advantage as Dawson had three of her five third-set kills to highlight the spurt by the Redbirds.  After hitting a combined .387 in the first two sets, Illinois State was even more efficient in the third; boasting a .500 attack percentage in the stanza.  Dawson was a perfect 5-for-5 on attack attempts to highlight a 25-15 win as the Redbirds closed out the match with a 25-15 victory.

Dawson finished with 12 kills and no errors on 18 attacks for a .667 hitting percentage to lead Illinois State.  She was one of three ISU players with eight or more kills.  Courtney Pence added 12 digs and an ace for the Redbirds.

Bradley closes out a three-match home stand Tuesday with a 5 p.m. matchup against Drake at Renaissance Coliseum.