(Peru, Neb.) – After a back and forth first set win, the Peru State volleyball team settled down and took the next two sets to win their first Heart of America Athletic Conference victory of the season.  The Bobcats defeated the visiting Avila University Eagles 30-28, 25-17, 25-19.
 
Overall, Peru State improved to 16-11 and is now 1-4 in the Heart.  The Eagles fell to 3-17 and 0-5 in conference play.
Game Action
 
 

Neither team led by more than three in the first set with the Bobcats having their largest lead at 12-9 following an Eagle attack error.  Peru State still had a three-point advantage at 16-13 after Jennifer Ostrowski (Kankakee, Ill.) put down a kill on an assist from Courtney Jurek (Bellevue).  But, Avila was undeterred as they fought back to go ahead 19-17 on a Bobcat attack error.  The 'Cats had an opportunity to finish it off early as they led 22-19 after two hits were called on Avila.  Again, the Eagles responded and came back to take a 24-23 lead.  The first set was tied at 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28, before a kill by Ostrowski was followed by a service ace from Rian Kirby (Gretna), giving Peru State the 30-28 win.
 
Peru State jumped to an early 5-1 lead with Kirby getting the kill off an assist from Bre Brandt.  The Bobcats seemed to have it in hand at that point, but Avila rattled off six straight points to lead 7-5 before Rachael West (El Dorado, Kan.) got a kill from an assist from Jurek to stop the run.  After being tied at 9-9, the Bobcats went on a 9-2 run to lead 18-11, forcing a timeout from Avila.  The 'Cats went on to win 25-17 with the set ending on a block by Ostrowski and Kirby.
 
Avila led 3-0 before a Lea Boras (Markarska, Croatia) kill on an assist from Meg Grose (Peoria, Ariz.) ended the Eagle run.  After a tie at 8-8, Peru State slowly pulled away to build a 19-12 lead after an Avila attack error causing the Eagles to call a timeout.  The teams basically traded rallies throughout the rest of the set which ended on an Eagle mishit giving Peru State a 25-19 win and their first conference victory.

 
Statistics
 
Neither team hit particularly well as the Bobcats hit .173 while holding Avila to a .067 hitting percentage.
 
Brandt led the Peru State hitters with 11 kills while Kirby adding nine.  Nicole Soifua (West Point, Utah) added six with West finishing with five.
 
Jurek and Grose led the setting with 20 and 13 assists respectively.
 
Kirby was credited with both service aces for the Bobcats.
 
Mallory Hull (Morse Bluff) was the lone Bobcat in double digits with digs at 18.  Shannon Liewer (Imperial) and Jurek each had nine while Hope Harsh (Cassoday, Kan.) added six.
 
Soifua and Kirby were each credited with one solo block.  Ostrowski finished with five block assists while Kirby and Boras each added three block assists.  Soifua added two block assists while Brandt adding one.

AVILA BOX SCORE
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will be playing two games this weekend, both of which were schedule changes.
 
On Friday night, the Bobcats will be playing in Lawrence, Kan., where they will take on the Haskell Indian Nations University Indians.  Earlier in the season, Haskell topped Peru State and are now 9-12 on the season.  Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
The other rescheduled game is now planned for Sunday, October 12.  Central Methodist University will be in Peru to play at 2 p.m.  The Eagles are 7-14 overall and 1-4 in the Heart.