(Peru, Neb.) – What was anticipated to be a potential long volleyball game Tuesday night turned out to be exactly that – a game which lasted over two hours on a stormy night in Peru.
 
Unfortunately for the Bobcat volleyball team, they found themselves on the losing side as the visiting Culver-Stockton College Wildcats came storming back after being down two sets to eventually win 24-26, 20-25, 25-22, 27-25, 15-8.
 
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) while Peru State fell to 6-4 and 0-1 in conference play.

 
Game Action
 
In the early part of the first set, the teams went back and forth with Peru State eventually moving out to a 12-7 lead as Cristal Quinonez (Anthony, N.M.) put down a kill on an assist by Courtney Jurek (Bellevue).  The Wildcats would fight back in the first set and led 20-17 before Jurek assisted Rian Kirby (Gretna) on a kill to cut the lead to two.  The set was tied at 23-23 and 24-24 before a hitting error on Culver-Stockton made it 25-24.  The final point of the first set was a Bobcat kill by Carrie Lierz (Holton, Kan.) on an assist from Hope Harsh (Cassoday, Kan.).
 
The Wildcats jumped to a 3-0 lead in the set before Peru State tied it at 4-4.  The score was then tied at 5-5, 6-6, and 7-7 before the Bobcats would work its way to a 16-9 lead with the 16^th point coming on another Lierz kill, this time on an assist from Jurek.  Culver-Stockton did get within four at 22-18 and 23-19 before another Lierz and Jurek combination finally finished off the set point.
 
 

Peru State never led in the third set but did tie it at 10-10 and 12-12.  The Wildcats' largest lead came at 24-19 before the Bobcats attempted to come back.  A kill by Jennifer Ostrowski (Kankakee, Ill.) on an assist from Jurek making it 24-20 was followed by a free ball kill by Ostrowski making it 24-21.  A Wildcat hitting error shortened their lead to 24-22, but Peru State had a hitting error to give Culver-Stockton the 25-22 third set win.
 
Culver-Stockton jumped to an early lead at 8-4, but the Bobcats fought back to eventually tie it at 12-12 on an Ostrowski kill on an assist from Jurek.  The teams traded points and it was still tied at 19-19 when the Wildcats went back on top 22-20.  Bre Brandt (Papillion) got a kill on an assist from Jurek to make it 22-21.  Then Brandt served up an ace to tie it at 22-22.  Again, Culver-Stockton would go back up by two at 24-22 forcing Peru State to fend off a couple of set points.  Consecutive kills by Quinonez on assists from Jurek once again knotted the score at 24-24.  A Wildcat kill was followed by another Quinonez kill, this time on an assist from Mallory Hull (Morse Bluff) to make it 25-25.  A Bobcat attack error followed by a Culver-Stockton kill tied the game at two sets apiece.
 
Peru State was forced to play from behind the entire fifth set as the Wildcats jumped to a 4-0 lead and never trailed in the deciding set. 
 
Statistics
 
Lierz led the Bobcats with 19 kills while hitting .341.  For Lierz, the 19 kills was a career high, topping her previous best of 17 kills as a sophomore against Southwestern Assemblies of God.
 
Quinonez finished with 12 kills and hit .296.  Kirby added 11 kills while Alyssa Martin (Grand Island) had five kills and hit .300.

 
Jurek had 47 assists in the loss.  Like Lierz, Jurek produced a career high with her 47 assists, bettering her 44 mark set last week against Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
 
Ostrowski, Jurek, Kirby, Brandt, and Harsh each had one service ace.
 
Four Bobcats finished in double-digit figures in digs and were led by Hull with 18.  Harsh added 11 while Jordyn Lukasiewicz (Farwell) and Shannon Liewer (Imperial) each had ten.  Jurek just missed a double-double as she had nine digs.
 
Ostrowski had two solo blocks and two block assists to lead Peru State in blocking.  Lierz had one solo block and two block assists while Martin had one solo and one block assist.  Quinonez and Kirby each had one block assist.

CULVER-STOCKTON BOX SCORE
 
Upcoming Games
 
The Bobcats will be participating in a triangular on Saturday in Seward.  At 11 a.m., Peru State will be facing Concordia University.  Currently, the Bulldogs are 6-3 and were receiving votes in the first NAIA Volleyball Poll released on Tuesday.  At 1 p.m., the Bobcats will take on the Cardinals from Friends University (Kan.).  Friends is currently 7-7.  Both Concordia and Friends will play a conference match on Wednesday before Saturday's triangular.
 
Next Tuesday, the 'Cats will travel to Baldwin City, Kan., to face Baker University, a HAAC opponent.  The Wildcats are currently 8-4 and the Peru State game will be their first conference game.