(Peru, Neb.) – The Bobcat volleyball team will head into the post-season with a three-match winning streak after topping William Penn (WPU) on the road Tuesday night. Peru State topped the Statesmen 25-14, 24-26, 25-18, 25-5 in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
 
With the win, the 'Cats improved to 24-12 overall and finished the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) regular season with an 8-3 mark – good enough for fourth in the 12-team league. Peru State was picked to finish seventh in the coaches' preseason poll. William Penn finished 6-23 and 1-10 in the Heart.

 
Upcoming Game
 
By finishing fourth in the Heart, Peru State earned the right to host a first-round postseason playoff game for the first time since joining the conference.
 
On Saturday, Nov. 7, the Bobcats will host Culver-Stockton (Mo.) in the Al Wheeler Activity Center at 4 p.m.
 
First Set Action
 
After tied at 2-2, Peru State scored on a kill from Lea Boras (Makarska, Croatia) on an assist from Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.) and never trailed the rest of the set. Alaya Roberts (Cibolo, Texas) finished the set with a kill on an assist from Rudebusch.
 
Second Set Action
 
The second set was much closer as it was tied on six different occasions. After Cristal Quinonez (Anthony, N.M.) started the set with a kill from Meg Grose (Peoria, Ariz.), the Statesmen scored the next two points. Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro) scored with a kill from an assist from Grose to tie it at 2-2. William Penn stretched their lead to 9-5 before Peru State eventually tied it at 9-9 after Shannon Liewer (Imperial) delivered a service ace. Once again, WPU went back in front and maintained that lead at 22-19 before Peru State put together a four-point run to make it 23-22 with Quinonez scoring the last point on a set from Grose. The Statesmen tied it at 23-23 before they had an attack error putting the 'Cats back in front. However, WPU came back with three straight points to take the second set.

 
Third Set Action
 
It was even closer early on in the third set as the set was tied at 11-11 after numerous ties. Back-to-back attack errors by WPU gave Peru State the lead for good. The Bobcats would go on to win the set when Quinonez, on an assist from Rudebusch, closed out the set win with a kill.
 
Fourth Set Action
 
William Penn scored the first point on the fourth set with a service ace, but it was all Peru State after that point. In fact, the Statesmen scored four of their five points on Bobcat errors, but that really did not matter as the 'Cats totally dominated the action. After leading 12-5, behind the serving of Grose, Peru State scored the final 13 points of the set and match to earn their eighth conference victory.
 
WILLIAM PENN GAME BOOK 

Statistics
 
Peru State held another opponent to negative hitting with their good defense. The Statesmen finished the contest hitting a negative .014 while the Bobcats hit a respectable .286.

 
Jhessica Martins (Uberlandia, Brazil) was the only Bobcat in double-figure kills as she finished with ten while hitting .333. Quinonez added nine while hitting .316 and Janjevic contributed eight and was also above .300 in hitting as she finished at .308. Boras added six kills and had a game-high .462 hitting percentage.
 
Rudebusch and Grose led the setting efforts with 23 and 16 assists respectively.
 
Grose led the team with two service aces, both coming in the closing set. Rudebusch and Liewer each finished with one.
 
Liewer had a game-high 23 digs with Grose and Savannah Moore (Idaho Falls, Idaho) each adding six.
 
Janjevic was credited with one solo block and eight block assists to lead the team. Rian Kirby (Gretna) added nine block assists with Rudebusch, Boras, and Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) each finishing with two. Quinonez had one block assists.
 
Career Updates
 
Liewer moved into fifth in digs for a single-season as she now has 706 digs. She moved ahead of Mallory Hull who had 697 digs last year.
 
Tournament Game
 
When Peru State hosts the Wildcats this Saturday, a team they beat 3-1 earlier in the season, all attending will be expected to pay the admission rate unless having an NAIA or conference pass.