PEORIA, IL ? It was a better performance by the Sycamore volleyball team but once again their effort to capture that elusive first Missouri Valley Conference victory came up short. The Bradley Braves defeated the Sycamores for the second time this season by the identical score of 3-1.

The Sycamores broke a 29-all tie late in the opening game on a kill by Stephanie Meier and a service ace by Lauren Gottardi to capture the first game 31-29. In the second game, Bradley was the team that was able to break a late tie, this time at 28, and score the final two points to post the victory 30-28 and knot the match at 1-game each.

In the third game, Indiana State fell behind early and never could catch up as Bradley took a 30-23 victory. The Braves took command early in the fourth game and never looked back in taking a 30-19 victory and earning the match win.

The flow of the match was almost identical to the earlier meeting in the ISU Arena when Indiana State won the first game and then dropped the next three.

The Sycamore offense showed improvement throughout the night with 56 kills in 178 attempts. Kelli Whitaker had a career high 16 kills for the Sycamores while Jodilynne Stoker added 11. Alisha Polite had 27 assists and Whitney Fromm 17 while Kristy Cox had 26 digs. Polite and Stoker had nine digs each.

The Sycamores are now 3-19 on the season and 0-14 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Indiana State will be at Northern Iowa on Saturday. The Panthers defeated Illinois State 3-0 Friday.

Earlier Friday, Bradley Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh announced that veteran coach Scott Luster's contract will not be renewed at the end of the season. Luster has been the Bradley coach for the past 10 years and will finish out the current season. Kavanagh said that a search for Luster's replacement will begin immediately.