Chicago State-Bradley Box Score
PEORIA, Ill. – Chicago State volleyball concluded its first day of the 2009 season in the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic by falling to host Bradley in three sets (25-7, 25-13, 25-18) at BU's Merkin Center in downstate Peoria, Ill. The Cougars fell to 0-2 on the young season while the Braves improved their record to 2-0.
The Braves jumped out to a commanding 13-1 advantage in the match's opening set after freshman Alise Tupuritis recorded 11 straight service points with three service aces and later took their biggest lead of the stanza at 23-5 on a CSU attacking error before cruising to the set win.
BU opened the second set with a 6-1 leading margin following back-to-back kills from Megan Schmidt. The Cougars later responded by scoring six straight points that included a pair of kills from sophomore Mazvita Maziveyi (Harare, Zimbabwe/Hillside (NC)) (Durham, N.C.) to gain a slim 8-7 advantage. CSU managed to hike its lead to 11-9 following a kill by senior Shamara Clark (Bloomington, IN/South) (Bloomington, Ind.) and a Maziveyi service ace, but the home team posted a 16-2 run thanks to three kills each from Schmidt and Tupuritis to capture a 2-0 advantage heading into the break.
Sophomore Shandella Darring (Chicago, IL/Kentucky State) (Chicago, Ill.) recorded a kill that gave the visitors an early 3-1 lead to begin the third set and a kill from senior Niena Posey (Chicago, IL/Lincoln College) (Chicago Heights, Ill.) increased the short lead at 4-2. Bradley bounced back and posted a 15-4 scoring run with seven service points from sophomore Rachelle Dejean and three kills by junior Caitlin Staib to reclaim the leading margin at 17-8.
The Cougars later posted a 10-4 run later in the set to slice their deficit at 22-18 that concluded with a kill and a solo block by freshman Kimberly Naut (Reno, NV/Galena) (Reno, Nev.), but the Braves finished off the match by scoring the last three points, including a pair of kills from junior Mellisa Collins.
CSU was led by junior Hanya Minta (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie) (Eden Prairie, Minn.), who nearly tallied a double-double with 12 assists and a match-high nine digs in the contest. Sophomore Mazvita Maziveyi (Harare, Zimbabwe/Hillside (NC)) (Durham, N.C.) posted four kills, while Naut added three kills and three blocks (one solo, two assisted) for the Cougars.
Schmidt posted a .769 hitting clip with 10 kills on 13 errorless swings to pace Bradley's offensive output in addition to recording a match-best three service aces. Senior Amy Reichel contributed seven kills, Staib added four blocks (one solo, three assisted) and freshman Skylar Lesan notched a match-high 20 assists.
The Cougars return to action tomorrow with two more matches against USC Upstate at 9 a.m. and Lehigh in their tournament finale at 4:30 p.m.
~CSU~
