PEORIA, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team wrapped up its non-conference schedule Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 loss (17-25, 20-25, 13-25) at Renaissance Coliseum in the final match of the CEFCU Classic.
 
"There's a lot to take from all the matches in the non-conference season," said head coach Ray Gooden. "It's now time to put all of that into action as we prepare for conference play."
 
Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) led NIU with eight kills and three blocks on the day. Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) had six kills and hit .417 with Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) adding six kills as well. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) had 10 digs and a match-high two aces as Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) dished out 22 assists.
 
NIU (3-11) bounced back from an early 4-1 opening set deficit to tie it at five on a pair of Wallace kills. Bradley regained the lead with a 5-2 run capped off by kills from Lida Kastanou and Rachel Pranger to take a 10-7 lead. The Huskies responded in kind, as kills by Wallace and Bell leveled the set at 13. The Braves then won six of the next seven points, getting three kills from Pranger, to go up 19-14. That was as close as the Huskies would get. Bradley got two kills from Hannah Thompson to win the first set 25-17 and go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The Huskies got off to a fast start in the second set. Powered by kills from Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy), Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), and two from Wallace, NIU built an early 6-1 lead. NIU led 9-4 when a pair of Huskie errors sparked a 4-1 Bradley run that put the Braves within two at 10-8. The Braves used a four-point run to take a 12-11 lead on back-to-back Pranger kills. The Huskies took the lead back with 4-1 run punctuated by a Tilly kill to make the score 15-13. Bradley then made another run, winning five of the next seven points to take an 18-17 lead. NIU was able to tie the set at 19, but the Braves won six of the last seven points as a Pranger ace gave Bradley the second set 25-20 and a 2-0 lead.
 
Bradley (4-7) erased an early 3-2 NIU lead in the third with a 9-0 run, capped off by two Thompson kills, to take an 11-3 lead. An Amanda Rullan Vilanova (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Savannah State) kill got the Huskies back on the scoreboard, but another Thompson kill and a block by Raeann Bergman and Kat Poore started a 6-0 Braves run to give Bradley a 17-4 lead. The Braves hit .400 in the final set and held NIU to a -.030 mark to win the set 25-13 and the match 3-0.
 
NIU was held to a .085 hitting percentage as Bradley hit .390. The Braves also held a 48-41 advantage in digs and a 10-4 edge in blocks. Pranger led all players with 14 kills as Thompson added 13 and a match-high 16 digs.
 
The Huskies open Mid-American Conference play at Victor E. Court on Friday, Sept. 26 against Central Michigan. First serve is at 6 p.m.
 
--NIU--