(Peru, Neb.) – It was the volleyball battle of the 'Cats on Tuesday night at the Al Wheeler Activity Center. The Peru State Bobcats hosted the Baker University Wildcats with the host 'Cats sweeping the visitors.
 
It was a night, too, where things could have gone awry for the host team as their opponents were coming in with an upset win over the then top-ranked team in the country on Friday. In addition, two Bobcat players had earned conference weekly recognition with one earning a top national honor.
 
However, Peru State maintained its composure in the tight match and won 27-25, 25-18, 25-23 to win its sixth match in a row. The Bobcats improved to 21-10 overall and 6-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and ensured themselves of their first winning conference mark since joining the league in 2011. The Wildcats fell to 13-12 and 4-4 in the Heart.
 
First Set Action
 
The Bobcats jumped to a 4-0 lead that started with kills by Nohely Perez (Caracas, Venezuela) and Jhessica Martins (Uberlandia, Brazil). Martins kill came off a set from Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.). A Bobcat block by Rian Kirby (Gretna) and Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) was followed by a Baker attack error to make give the Bobcats the four-point lead. Baker followed with a pair of points to cut into the lead. Peru State moved out to six-point leads with the last coming at 17-11 before the Wildcats slowly fought their way back into the set. The Bobcats had set point at 24-20 only to see Baker rattle off five straight points to take the lead at 25-24. A kill by Martins on an assist from Meg Grose (Peoria, Ariz.) knotted it at 25-25. Then, Rudebusch had a service ace to put the Bobcats back on top. An attack error by the top Wildcat hitter gave Peru State the first set win.

 
Second Set Action
 
The early part of the second set was back and forth, but a service ace by Savannah Moore (Idaho Falls, Idaho) put the Bobcats on top for good at 6-5. The Wildcats would get within one at 14-13, but a Perez kill off an assist from Rudebusch helped Peru State remain on top. A Martins kill on an assist from Grose finished off the second set.
 
Third Set Action
 
It appeared Baker was going to force a fourth set as they maintained a lead for most all of the third set. Peru State eventually forced a tie at 22-22 when Kirby got a kill from an assist from Rudebusch. An attack error by the Wildcats gave Peru State a one-point lead, but Baker came back with a kill to tie it back up. A kill by Cristal Quinonez (Anthony, N.M.) from Rudebusch put the Bobcats at set and match point. Kirby and Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro) combined for a block to seal the set and match for Peru State.

BAKER GAME BOOK
 
Statistics
 
The Bobcats held Baker's top hitter to just five kills and a hitting percentage of 0.050. Peru State's blocking and digging efforts helped to hold the entire Wildcat team to a hitting percentage of .167 while the Bobcats hit .231.
 
Martins, the reigning Heart Attacker of the Week, lived up to the title as she had a game-high 14 kills while hitting .385. Perez added eight kills with Kirby adding seven. Lea Boras (Makarska, Croatia) added six kills in the win.
 
Grose and Rudebusch each finished with 17 assists in the win.
 
Rudebusch and Shannon Liewer (Imperial) each were credited with two service aces. Gianna Gangi (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Moore each added one service ace.
 

Liewer, who was named the NAIA Defender of the Week three hours prior to the match, also showed why she was worthy of the honor as she had 24 digs in the win. This matched her eight digs per set average which earned the recognition from her performance the week before. Gangi added nine digs while Rudebusch contributed six.
 
Boras and Bowman each had one solo block with Kirby and Janjevic each having five block assists. Bowman added four block assists with Martins and Boras each adding two block assists.
 
Upcoming Matches
 
Peru State has two ranked foes in their path with both being on the road.
 
On Saturday, the Bobcats will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to face NAIA's #25 Grand View Vikings. Grand View is 18-11 overall and 7-1 in the Heart.
 
Then, next Wednesday, Peru State will step up a couple of classifications when they will travel to take on NCAA DII #16 University of Nebraska at Kearney Lopers. The Lopers are presently 18-5 overall.