(Peru, Neb.) – In splitting a pair of matches in Madison, S.D., the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball team captured their first win of the young season.
 
The Bobcats swept Waldorf College 25-21, 25-22, 25-18 in their opening game of the triangular hosted by Dakota State University.  With the win over Waldorf, the Bobcats' record improved to 1-4 while Waldorf fell to 3-8.
 
Waldorf Game Action
 
With two new individuals in the starting line-up for PSC, the first set of the game was back and forth as there were numerous ties, four lead changes, and neither team led by more than four.  Waldorf had their largest leads at 13-9 and 14-10 before the 'Cats closed to within one on a service ace by Becky Boshart (Wood River).   PSC's four-point lead in the first set came at 24-20.  Then the final four-point margin of victory came when setter Courtney Jurek (Bellevue) had a kill on set point.  
The second set saw seven lead changes, but the Bobcats did manage to have a seven-point advantage at 19-12 before Waldorf slowly closed the gap.  Jurek ended the second set with an ace serve giving PSC a 25-22 win.
 
The Bobcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third set on kills by Lindsey Nelson (Granite Bay, Calif.), Tara Gonzalez (Lincoln), and Alicia Petak (Omaha), and attack errors by Waldorf.  The Warriors put together a 5-0 run of their own to cut it to 6-5 before Petak and Gonzalez stopped the run with a block.  Following a Waldorf score, PSC went up 11-6 before stretching their lead to 16-9 on a kill by Paige Riza (Ravenna, Texas).  Throughout the rest of the set, the teams traded points with a kill by Brittany Peterson (Orem, Utah) giving PSC their first win of the year.  
Peterson and Carrie Lierz (Holton, Kan.), who each had seven kills, led a balanced hitting attack by PSC.   Nelson, playing in her first competition of the year, added six kills while Gonzalez added five. 
 
Jurek and Riza shared the setting duties with Jurek finishing with 16 assists and Riza having 11.  Jurek also had three service aces to lead the team.  Petak, Boshart, Emily Maresh (Central City), and Lierz each had one ace serve.
 
Maresh and Boshart were the team's leading diggers with 16 and ten respectively.  Maresh also was perfect in her service receptions with 23 while Mallory Hull (Morse Bluff) and Boshart added 14 and 13 good receptions each.
 
Peterson finished with two solo blocks while Petak had eight block assists.  Gonzalez recorded six block assists in the win.

WALDORF BOX SCORE
 
Dakota State Game Action
 
The last game of the triangular was a close one throughout, but the Dakota State University (DSU) Trojans pulled out the win in five by topping PSC 25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 17-15.  It was the first win of the year for DSU who moved to 1-4 while PSC fell to 1-5.
 
The Trojans jumped to a 16-9 lead in the first game forcing the 'Cats to try to scramble back.  PSC did cut it to 20-17, but that would be as close as they would get.
 
In the second set, the Bobcats never trailed and after being tied at 12 apiece, a kill by Gonzalez, combined with several Trojan errors, saw PSC move their lead to 17-12.  DSU did cut the lead to one on two different occasions late in the set before a kill by Peterson gave PSC the second set win at 25-22.  
The third set was similar to the first as Dakota State went to a 15-8 lead before PSC slowly whittled away to get back within three at 19-16.  Later, PSC was within one at 19-18 before the Trojans put together a three-point run, making the score 22-18.  Again, DSU went on to finish out the set and took a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set.
 
There were several ties early in the fourth set with the largest lead of the set being the final margin of five for the Bobcats as they won 25-20.  The Bobcats did lead by five one other time in the set at 11-6 after a kill by Peterson.  Gonzalez finished the fourth set with a kill to gain the win for the 'Cats.
 
The Bobcats never led in the final and determining set of the game so they played from behind the entire set.  Dakota State had a four-point lead at 8-4 before PSC rallied to tie it at 11-11 on another kill by Gonzalez with the assist from Jurek.  The Trojans moved back ahead 13-11, but PSC came back again to tie it at 14 apiece when Riza fed Peterson the ball and Peterson put it down for a kill.  DSU went ahead 15-14, but Lierz tied it up with a kill on another assist by Riza.  Two kills by DSU ended the game with the Trojans winning 17-15 in the fifth set.
 
Gonzalez and Peterson were in double figures with kills at 16 and 11 respectively.   Nelson added eight kills with Petak and Lierz each contributing five.
 
Jurek and Riza had 23 and 19 assists respectively.  Jurek also had 16 digs while Riza added four.
 
Gonzalez, Petak, Boshart, Maresh, and Lierz each had one service ace. 
 
Maresh had a career-high 36 digs for a five-set game.  Her previous best was 32 in five sets which she had twice last season.  In addition, Maresh had 46 good service receptions.
 Boshart and Hull had nine and eight digs respectively with Hull being a perfect 24 of 24 in serve receives.
 
Peterson had four block assists while Riza added three block assists.

DAKOTA STATE BOX SCORE
 
Next Action
 
On Tuesday, the Bobcats will have their first Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) action when they travel to Marshal, Mo., to take on Missouri Valley College.  Game time for the HAAC game is 7 p.m.
 
Next weekend, PSC will be playing in a tough Quality Inn Classic, hosted by Hastings College, where they will face three schools from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC).  On Friday, PSC will play their only non-GPAC opponent, Grand View University, at noon.  Then, at 4 p.m., the 'Cats will play Concordia University.  On Saturday, PSC will play Dordt College at 2 p.m. and will finish the tournament with the hosts at 6 p.m.
 
The following Tuesday, PSC will have their second HAAC game when they go to Atchison, Kan., to play Benedictine College.