(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State volleyball team is off to its best start in seven years as they improved to an 8-1 mark following four wins in the Kansas Wesleyan Invite this weekend. The Bobcats swept their first three games before defeating Tabor in four on Sunday.
 
In 2008, Peru State started off with a 7-1 record before finishing the season with a 19-11 mark.
 
Bethany Statistics
 
The Bobcats started the tourney with a three-set sweep of the Bethany Swedes (Kan.) on Saturday afternoon. Peru State won 25-18, 25-18, 25-14.
 
In her first play in a Bobcat uniform, Jhessica Martins (Uberlandia, Brazil) led Peru State with 17 kills on just 27 swings while hitting a remarkable .593. Martins had been hampered by an injury but came out strong against the Swedes.

 
Rian Kirby (Gretna), Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro), and Cristal Quinonez (Anthony, N.M.) each added seven kills while hitting .300, .429, and .357 respectively.
 
Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.) led the team with 34 assists and also added two service aces. Shannon Liewer (Imperial), Gianna Gangi (Simi Valley, Calif.), Martins, and Savannah Moore (Idaho Falls, Idaho) each had one service ace.
 
Liewer led the team with ten digs while Kirby finished with eight.
 
Kirby and Martins were each credited with one solo block. Janjevic, Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), and Quinonez each had two block assists while Kirby, Martins, and Nohely Perez (Caracas, Venezuela) each added one block assist.
 
McPherson Statistics
 
It was another three-set sweep for the Bobcats in their second game on Saturday. Peru State toppled the McPherson Bulldogs (Kan.) 25-23, 25-21, 25-10.
 

Quinonez was the only Bobcat in double digits with ten kills while Kirby added nine. Janjevic finished with seven while hitting .583 and Martins added five.
 
Rudebusch put up 28 assists in the win.
 
Rudebusch and Gangi each had two service aces with Martins and Janjevic each adding one.
 
Liewer led the team with 13 digs while Kirby finished with 11. Gangi was just one shy of double-digit digs as she added nine.
 
Janjevic was credited with the lone solo block while having two block assists as well. Martins had two block assists with Rudebusch, Lea Boras (Makarska, Croatia), Kirby, and Quinonez each being credited with one block assist.
 
Friends Statistics
 
Peru State came up with its fourth sweep in a row as they started with Sunday with a 25-21, 25-10, 25-22 win over Friends University (Kan.).
 
Kirby and Martins led the team with 15 and 11 kills respectively while hitting .293 and .273.

 
Rudebusch contributed 34 assists in the win.
 
Janjevic and Moore each had one service ace.
 
Liewer had a Bobcat career-high 23 digs in three sets. Kirby added seven digs while Gangi added six. Rudbebusch, Martins, and Moore each finished with five digs.
 
Kirby had the lone solo block while finishing with three block assists. Janjevic had four block assists while Boras added two. Rudebusch, Martins, and Quinonez each finished with one block assist.
 
Tabor Statistics
 
After dropping the first set 25-19, the 'Cats came back and won 25-15, 25-13, 25-18 to topple the Blue Jays from Tabor (Kan.).
 

Three Bobcats were in double digits in kills and were led by Quinonez with 12. Kirby and Martins each had 11 with Martins hitting .421. Janjevic added nine kills on 15 attempts and hit .533.
 
Rudebusch finished with 37 assists to lead the team.
 
Gangi led the team with three service aces with Rudebusch, Liewer, and Kirby each adding two. Moore finished with one ace serve.
 
Liewer finished with 12 digs while Rudebusch finished with a double-double as she added ten digs.
 
Boras and Kirby each had three block assists while Rudebusch and Quinonez each had one block assist.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will play its first Heart of America Athletic Conference game on Wednesday night in Atchison, Kan. The Bobcats will face Benedictine at 7 p.m. Currently, the Ravens are 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the Heart.
 
The Bobcats will travel to Hastings this weekend to participate in a tournament hosted by Hastings College. Peru State will face three tough Montana teams and the hosts.
 
On Friday, the Bobcats will play Montana Tech at 11 a.m. Presently, Montana Tech is 11-2. Then, at 1 p.m., Peru State will face Montana Western who is 3-4.
 
Hastings will be Peru State's opponents on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Broncos are currently 7-2. Later at 5 p.m. will play Carroll who is 3-6.