(Peru, Neb.) – While some might not consider it an upset, when you go on the road and beat a team which was 20-5 overall and 4-0 at home, it most likely is an upset.
 
And that is what the Peru State volleyball team did Tuesday night as they traveled to Fayette, Mo., and brought home a hard-fought victory. The Bobcats defeated Central Methodist (CMU) 23-25, 26-24, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13 to win their fifth Heart of America Athletic Conference game of the season. The 'Cats are now 5-2 in conference action which currently places them in fourth in the 12-team league. Overall, Peru State is 18-10. The Eagles fell to 4-3 in conference play and are now 20-6 overall.

 
Statistics
 
No play-by-play was kept by CMU so only overall statistics are available.
 
Jhessica Martins (Uberlandia, Brazil) had a big night at the net as she pounded a game-high 21 kills while hitting .442. Nohely Perez (Caracas, Venezuela) finished with ten kills while Rian Kirby (Gretna) finished with nine. Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro) and Lea Boras (Makarska, Croatia) each added seven kills.
 
For Martins, it was her season in kills and attempts. As a team, the Bobcats took 173 swings while getting 59 kills for a .254 hitting percentage.
 
Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.) and Meg Grose (Peoria, Ariz.) led the setting for the 'Cats with 29 and 19 assists respectively.
 
As a team, the 'Cats finished with 54 assists, the most on the season in any match.
 
Grose added two service aces while Kirby, Perez, and Gianna Gangi (Simi Valley, Calif.) each had one service ace.

 
Shannon Liewer (Imperial) had a game-high 39 digs with three other Bobcats producing double-digit dig figures. Gangi had 17, Kirby had 13, and Rudebusch added 11 to give her a double-double on the night.
 
Liewer's performance was a season- and career-high number of digs. Her effort tied the highest dig total for the conference this season. Peru State also had a season-high 123 digs as a team which was better than the 117 against Montana Western. The 123 total puts the team on top of the best dig performances of the season.
 
Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had two solo blocks and four block assists to lead Peru State's blocking efforts. Janjevic had seven block assists with Kirby adding four. Boras and Cristal Quinonez (Anthony, N.M.) each had three block assists with Perez finishing with two.
 
Peru State's blocking efforts also set a season-high as they had 13.5 total blocks, bettering the 13 total blocks earlier against Mount Mercy (Iowa).

CMU BOX SCORE
 

Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will be participating in a tri-match this coming Saturday in Omaha, Neb., which will be hosted by Grace University. At 3:30 p.m., the Bobcats will be facing Morningside College. The Mustangs are presently 6-15, but have played well in some big matches. At 5:30 p.m., the 'Cats will take on the host Royals. Grace is 10-17 and will play another game before facing the Bobcats.
 
Next Tuesday, Oct. 20, Peru State will be back in Heart action when they host Baker University at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are just a half-game behind the Bobcats in the league with a 4-2 mark and are 12-9 overall.