(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State Bobcat volleyball team travelled to Seward Tuesday night and handed the NAIA's 20^th-ranked Concordia Bulldogs their first loss of the season. The 'Cats swept Concordia 25-17, 25-21, 26-24 to improve to 4-1 while the Bulldogs fell to 1-1. It was just the eighth home loss for Concordia since 2014.
 
Game Comments
 
Peru State scored the first four points in the opening set and never trailed in route to the 25-17 win. Setter Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.) served an ace for the final point of the set.

 
The second set was much tighter throughout with the teams trading the lead until the Bobcats broke a 19-19 tie when Yorgelys Jaspe (San Carlos, Venezuela) put down a kill from Rudebusch. Rian Kirby (Gretna) nailed the final point of the set with a kill on an assist from Rudebusch.
 
The 'Cats jumped to a 6-2 lead but the Bulldogs were not out. Concordia tied it at 6-6 only to see Peru State score five straight to lead 11-6. The Bulldogs would eventually battle back to tie it at 16-16 and took a 17-16 lead. Another Jaspe kill from Rudebusch tied the game and then Kirby broke the tie with a kill. Concordia actually had set point at 24-23 before the Kirby-Rudebusch combination struck again to tie it. A reverse combination of Kirby setting Rudebusch resulted in the 25^th point for Peru State. A service ace by Cristina Viera (Montevideo, Uruguay) gave the Bobcats the match point.

 
Game Stats
 
Kirby had a match-high 14 kills while hitting .256 on the night. Jaspe finished with nine kills while Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro) added six kills.
 
Rudebusch had a game-high 32 assists and also had one service ace. Janjevic had two service aces while Jaspe, Rudebusch, and Viera each added one ace.
 
Three Bobcats finished in double digits with digs with Viera leading the way with 16. Gianna Gangi (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Jaspe finished with 12 and ten respectively.

 
Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had a match-high three ace blocks and also was credited with two block assists. Janjevic added six block assists with Kirby finishing with five. Rudebusch also had two block assists. Freshman Hannah Sexton (Beatrice), in her first playing time, finished with four kills and one block assist.

CONCORDIA BOX SCORE
 
Upcoming Games

 
Peru State will host its own Fall Classic this Friday and Saturday with six teams from six different states competing. The Bobcats will open with York at 1 p.m. on Friday. It will be opening match for York. Also on Friday, the 'Cats will face Mayville State (N.D.) at 7 p.m. The Comets will open against Friends (Kan.) in the tournament at 3 p.m.
 
On Saturday, Peru State will open with Johnson & Wales (Colo.) at noon. The Tigers are 1-3 on the season and will play two games in the Classic before facing the Bobcats. The final game of the Classic will pit Presentation (S.D.) against the 'Cats at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Saints will open Wednesday night at home against Mount Marty (S.D.) before heading to Peru State.