Against DWU, the Bobcats played close in the first set, but could not pull out a win. 
 
Tara (Carstens) Gonzalez (Lincoln) led the Bobcat hitters with nine kills.  Gonzalez also added two service aces and eight digs.
 
Carrie Lierz (Holton, Kan.) and Brittany Peterson (Orem, Utah) added six and five kills respectively in the season-opening loss.  Lierz also had two service aces and five digs.
 
Courtney Jurek (Bellevue) and Paige Riza (Ravenna, Texas) handled the setting duties.  Jurek had 13 assists while Riza added ten. 
 
Emily Maresh (Central City) started her senior campaign with 23 digs and was the team's leading passer with 24 good passes.  Becky Boshart (Wood River) added eight digs in the loss.
 
Alicia Petak (Omaha) led the team with two solo blocks.

DAKOTA WESLEYAN BOX SCORE
 
Northwestern College
 
The tourney hosts were ready to play when they took on the Bobcats and took care of business in a sweep.  
Gonzalez and Lierz led the attack with seven and six kills respectively.   Lierz had one of the team's two service aces and added six digs.  Gonzalez had eight digs.  Petak had the team's other ace serve.
 
Jurek was in double figures with assists with ten and had eight digs.
 
Maresh was in double digits with digs for the second game as she finished the contest with 11 and had 12 good pass attempts.

NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE BOX SCORE
 
Bellevue University
 
Against the Bruins, after a tie at 3-3 in the first set, the Bruins went on a 6-0 run, making it 9-3 before Gonzalez stopped the run with a kill on the assist by Boshart.  However, the 'Cats were not able to make much head-way in the set and eventually dropped it 11-25.
 
Almost the exact same scenario occurred in the second set as once again, Bellevue jumped out to a 9-3 lead before the Bruins committed a serving error.  PSC did cut it to 9-11 at one point before BU eventually pulled away for a 25-14 win.
 
The Bobcats started stronger in the third set.  After being behind 2-1, a block by Boshart and Peterson knotted the set at 2-2.  Kills by Riza and Lierz gave the 'Cats a 4-2 lead.  The Bruins bounced back to tie it at 4-4 before Petak put down a kill to give PSC a 5-4 lead, a lead which they would not relinquish during the remainder of the set.  Peru State stretched their early lead to four at 13-9.  Bellevue did get back within two on seven different occasions later in the set, but the 'Cats persevered and won 25-22.
 
In the fourth set, the Bobcats and Bruins battled back and forth; as it was tied at 7-7 before BU had three straight kills to go up 10-7.  An attack error put PSC back within two at 10-8 before Bellevue jumped to a 15-10 advantage.  A Petak kill cut it to 16-14, but that would be as close as PSC would get before succumbing 25-17.
 
Gonzalez and Peterson led the Bobcat hitters with nine and seven kills respectively.  Peterson had a respectable .400 hitting percentage connecting on seven of 15 attacks with only one error. 
 
Riza and Jurek were Peru State's leading setters.  Riza had 16 assists while Jurek added ten. 
 
Six different 'Cats each had a service ace – Gonzalez, Jurek, Lierz, Petak, Boshart, and Maresh.
 
Maresh led the team defensively with 20 digs while Katlyn Donovan (Greeley) was also in double-figures with ten.
 
Peterson and Petak each had two block assists while Gonzalez, Lierz, Boshart, and Riza each added one assist.

BELLEVUE UNIVERSITY BOX SCORE
 
Morningside College
 
In their fourth game of the tourney, the 'Cats started slow in the first set, but rebounded to play more competitively during the rest of the contest.