PEORIA, Ill. – It was once again a Downey, Sanders combination to start off Saturday's tournament play in the Midwest, as USC Upstate battled in a back-and-forth affair with host Bradley at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational before a heartbreaking loss in the fifth set, 3-2, (14-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-27, 15-17).

During 2009, in their first ever meeting with the Bradley Braves, Upstate fought valiantly in its season opener but fell, 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 17-25, 20-25) to the Braves. Bradley now leads the all-time results against the Spartans, 2-0, with the teams having only met at the Hotels of Grand Prairie Invitational in consecutive seasons.

Upstate (1-1) was led by Mindy Quimby and Kelsie Queen who put away 14 kills apiece. Quimby also connected on 10 digs and a solo block while Queen found a pair of digs and a block assist. Supplementing the offensive drive were Cori Harris with 13 kills and Katie Downey with 12. Emily Sanders exploded on a game-high 51 assists in addition to her 19 digs while Megan Healey led the defense with 22 digs. Notably, in her first collegiate appearance, freshman Morgan Page found 11 digs.

Bradley (2-0) was also led by a dynamic duo, Lauren Zerante and Madelyn Ervin, who found 12 kills apiece. Annie Cave and Megan Schmidt added another 11 kills apiece to the offensive scheme as Cave also posted 16 digs. Shelly Mueller did her part for the Braves, notching 29 assists on the game while Jennifer Sykes put up 21.

The Spartans held their own in the first set and stayed on the Braves', 7-7, before kills by Cave, Zerante and Schmidt propelled Bradley on a 7-2 run. Upstate got a break on back-to-back attack errors from Zerante to pull within three, 14-11, but it was Bradley who would keep the cushion, finishing out the first, 25-14.

Bradley used its momentum from the opening set to explode on an 11-4 run in the second before Spartan newcomer Harris, rose to the occasion to find the floor spurring Upstate on its own 9-3 run. With the teams neck-in-neck towards the end of the second, Bradley took a time-out before returning to the court, taking 7-of-11 possible points to lead 21-18. Feeling the pressure, Harris set up to serve and took focus, finding four aces while Quimby added a pair of kills and Morgan Thomas found one to complete the second set in Upstate's favor, 25-21.

Going into the third all tied up at one set apiece, it was Bradley who got a piece of the action first on a kill from Allie Falter. The Spartans did not let the Braves get far though, keeping the set evenly matched up until 18-18, when a kill by Thomas got the ball back to Healey for service. On her next six serves, Healey connected for an ace on three while Quimby added a kill and Downey a block to give Upstate the 2-1 lead, 25-20.

Taking its energy into the fourth set, Upstate hit the court to explode on an 8-3 lead that featured kills from Quimby and Harris before allowing an opposing 8-3 run by the Braves to tie it up at 11. Finding themselves in a draw once more against the Braves it looked as though Upstate would come out on top of the battle, up 21-18 following a Queen kill, but when Bradley was able to tie it up again 24 points apiece, the Braves took action, putting away a pair of kills before an attack error by the Spartans tipped the set in Bradley's favor, 27-25.

In the fifth and final set, Upstate had the first point advantage on a Sanders to Downey combination and stayed close through 14 points, 7-7, but could not capitalize as Bradley ended the set and match on a final 10-8 push to come out ahead, 17-15.

Upstate will have an opportunity to leave the Midwest with a winning record as they face Western Illinois (0-2) at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational at 4:30 p.m.