KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sophomore Taylor Thiele (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) tallied a team-best nine kills and also led Bradley with 12 digs, but the Braves wrapped up play at the Kangaroo Klassic with a 25-19, 25-23, 25-23 loss to SIU Edwardsville Saturday afternoon.

SIU Edwardsville served up six aces and collected eight blocks in the three-set victory over Bradley (5-4 overall). 

Freshman Erica Haslag (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias Catholic) added eight kills and six digs to help lead the Braves, while fellow freshman Allison Turner (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) turned in a team-best three blocks to go with seven kills. 

SIU Edwardsville (2-7 overall) took control of the opener with a seven-point run midway through to go in front 17-8.  Ashley Witt notched six kills on just eight swings to help power the Cougars to a 25-19 first-set win.  

Neither team led by more than four points in the second set and the stanza featured two lead changes and a total of 14 ties.  The score was knotted at 23-23 after a Kelsey Cave (Solon, Iowa/Solon) kill, but SIUE's Kristen Torre put her squad in front with a kill.  Mallory Mangun followed with another kill to close out a 25-23 Cougars victory.

Bradley appeared to be on the verge of pushing the match to a fourth set, before SIU Edwardsville rallied.  The Braves built a 23-17 lead, behind four third-set kills by Turner.  Thiele added three kills and six digs in the third to help Bradley build the advantage. 

Torre, who had a match-high 12 kills and seven blocks, helped spark a big SIUE rally, however.  She followed a Bradley service error with a block and added three more kills during an 8-0 Cougars' run as SIU Edwardsville took the frame 25-23 to complete the sweep.

Senior Jessica Teel (San Antonio, Texas/Claudia Taylor Johnson) had 17 assists, one ace and four digs for the Braves.  Fellow senior Lea Sack (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) added four assists, nine digs and an ace.  Sack averaged 4.11 digs per set during the weekend to earn a spot on the Kangaroo Klassic All-Tournament team.

Bradley returns to Renaissance Coliseum to host the Bradley Invitational next weekend and kick off a season-long five-match home stand.  The Bradley Invitational begins Friday at 10 a.m. with UTEP taking on Southeast Missouri State.  After UTEP takes on DePaul at 4 p.m. Friday, the Braves will face Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. to wrap up the first day of play.