(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State volleyball team had several opportunities to take the match from the visiting Clarke (Iowa) Pride, but could not capitalize.
 
The Pride came from behind in the first set to win 26-24 before the 'Cats took the second set 25-21. Clarke then took the third set 25-16 and then captured the fourth set 25-23.
 
With the win, the Pride improved to 25-7 overall and 12-5 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart). Clarke secured the second seed in the North Division with the victory. Peru State fell to 12-18 on the year and 9-8 in conference play. The Bobcats will be the third seed in the North in post-season play.

 
First Set Action
 
A Claire Cudney (Marysville, Kan.) kill on an assist from Meg Grose (Peoria, Ariz.) gave the first point to Peru State. In the first set alone, there were 15 ties and five lead changes. The largest lead held by either team was four points. Clarke led by four at 14-10 before an Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) off an assist from Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.) gave Peru State its 11^th point of the set. The 'Cats eventually tied it at 16-16 on a service ace by Grose.
 
The Bobcats would go out to a 21-17 lead after Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro) put down a kill on an over pass. But, Clarke would come back to take the lead at 23-22 before Bowman and Grose hooked up for a kill/assist to knot it at 23 all. The Pride would get to set point, but Bowman and Rudebusch would combine to tie it at 24-24 before Clarke would score the final two points of the set.
 
Second Set Action
 
It looked like all the momentum had moved to the Pride side as they jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second set. A kill by Kira Shapiro (Omaha) off an assist from Rudebusch put Peru State on the board. Clarke maintained its lead until Peru State would tie it at 8-8 on a kill by Bowman. Later in the set, Shapiro would get a kill from Rudebusch to make it 15-12 and the Bobcats led from that point on even though the Pride would pull within one a couple times with the last coming at 21-20. Another Bowman/Rudebusch combination would give Peru State its 22^nd point and later the same duo hooked up for the 25^th point.
 
Third Set Action
 
After back-to-back kills by Cudney on assists from Grose and Rudebusch respectively gave the 'Cats a 2-0 lead, the Pride scored eight straight points to take an 8-2 lead. Clarke never looked back at that point and went on to easily win the third set.
 
Fourth Set Action
 
As it has done in many sets this year, Peru State had to fight back from being down in a set. The Pride took a 4-0 lead and led by as many as six at 10-4 before the 'Cats slowly fought their way back into the fray. Eventually, an attack error on Clarke knotted the game at 18-18 forcing a Pride timeout. Peru State would later take a 22-21 lead after a solo block by Bowman only to see the Pride score the next two points to lead 23-22. A Cudney kill from Grose tied it at 23-23 before Clarke scored the final two points to win the set and match.

CLARKE GAME BOOK

Statistics

 
Neither team hit the ball well as Clarke finished with a .136 hitting percentage and Peru State was below .100 at .89.
 
Cudney and Shapiro led Peru State with 12 and 11 kills respectively with Bowman adding eight.
 
Rudebusch finished with 21 assists while Grose contributed 17.
 
Janjevic and Sydney Stevelinck (Lyons, Colo.) each had two service aces with Grose and Rudebusch each adding one.
 
Cristina Viera (Montevideo, Uruguay), the Heart Defender of the Week, added to her league-leading digs total with a match-high 39 points. Alaya Roberts (Cibolo, Texas) added 12 digs while Rudebusch was one shy of finishing with a double-double as she contributed nine. Grose had six digs with Janjevic and Shapiro each adding five.
 
Janjevic and Bowman were blocking machines as they finished with five and four solo blocks respectively while Hannah Sexton (Beatrice) had one solo block.
 
Upcoming Matches
 
It will be Senior Night for six Bobcat seniors when they host Culver-Stockton (Mo.) Friday night at 5 p.m. as part of the College's Homecoming festivities. The Wildcats are 9-21 overall and are 2-14 in conference play having upset Mount Mercy (Iowa) Tuesday night.
 
The six seniors being recognized include Rudebusch, Grose, Bowman, Roberts, Viera, and Raechel Knowles (Nassau, Bahamas).
 
On Halloween, the 'Cats will travel to Des Moines to face the Heart North leader Grand View. Game time with the 25-7 Vikings is 7 p.m. Grand View is presently perfect at 16-0 in conference play.
 
With the third seed locked up in the North, the Bobcats will travel to face a South Division opponent on Saturday, Nov. 4. Right now, the South Division is jumbled as only 2.5 games separate the top four teams.