OMAHA, Neb. -- Facing one of the top blocking teams in the nation, Bradley came up short against conference co-leading Creighton 11-25, 25-19, 17-25, 23-25 Saturday night at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Junior Lauren Zerante (Elmhurst, Ill./York) had a match-high 24 digs against the Bluejays after tallying a career-best 31 digs in Friday's loss at Drake and helped limit Creighton to a .239 attack percentage.
Bradley (6-12 overall, 0-7 MVC) struggled against Creighton at the net, however, as the Bluejays collected 14 blocks in the four sets and setter Megan Bober recorded a triple-double to lead Creighton to the victory.
Creighton (15-3 overall, 6-1 MVC) controlled the opening set and closed out a 25-11 victory with a 14-4 run.
The Braves rallied from six points down in the second set to pull even in the match with a 25-19 win. With her squad trailing 18-12, Nebraska native Allie Falter (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) helped highlight a 13-1 BU run with three kills and a block. Playing her first career match in her home state, freshman Lea Sack (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) served 10 consecutive points, including an ace, to open the run and help Bradley take the second set.
In the third set, Bradley trailed 14-12, when Bober tallied three blocks and four assists during an 8-1 Creighton spurt to put the Bluejays in front 22-13. Creighton, which hit .313 and had six blocks in the third set, went on to take the frame 25-17.
The fourth set was tight throughout and knotted at 23-23 after a Courtney Keefe (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) ace before the Bluejays closed out the match. A Creighton block was followed by a BU attack error as the Bluejays finished the match with a 25-23 victory.
Junior Amy Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) led Bradley with nine kills and Zerante was one of three Braves to reach double figures in digs with her match-high 24. Sack added a season-best 13 digs, while Keefe finished with seven kills, three aces and 10 digs.
Bober had a match-high 14 kills to go with 30 assists and 13 digs for her second double-double of the year to lead Creighton. Kelli Browning chipped in with 11 kills and eight blocks.
Bradley opens a season-long four-match home stand Friday with a 6 p.m. match against Southern Illinois at Renaissance Coliseum. Friday's matchup with the Salukis is part of Bradley's Cram the Coliseum event, which will include the annual Red-White Scrimmage for the Bradley men's and women's basketball teams immediately following the conclusion of the match.
