(Peru, Neb.) – After a sluggish first set, the Peru State volleyball team clawed its way back for their first victory of the 2017 season after losing their opener last week.
 
The Bobcats topped the visiting William Penn (Iowa) Statesmen 20-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-18 to improve to 1-1. The Statesmen fell to 2-6 overall.
 
It was the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) opener for the 'Cats who improved to 1-0 while William Penn fell to 0-2 in conference play.
 
In addition, it was Bobcat head coach Laurie Schroeder's first win as a collegiate head coach.

 
And this all happened after a power surge in the AWAC causing the entire duration of the match and afterwards to be played while utilizing the College's back-up generator for the facility!
 
First Set Action
 
After being tied early at 2-2, the Statesmen went on a 4-0 run to lead 6-2 and never trailed the rest of the set. Late in the set, the Bobcats pulled within two at 21-19, but back-to-back kills by William Penn helped them on their way to the 25-20 win.
 
Second Set Action
 
Peru State trailed 2-0 in the second set before a Statesmen service error put the 'Cats on the Board. After another point by William Penn, a kill by Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro) on an assist from Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.) sent Janjevic back to the serving line where the Bobcats scored the next five points – including two service aces by Janjevic.
 
The Statesmen would come back and eventually lead 16-12 before Peru Sate would score the next six to retake the lead at 18-16. After being tied at 18-18, an attack error by William Penn put Peru State in the lead for good. A hitting miscue by the Statesmen gave Peru State the final point in their 25-23 win.
 
Third Set Action
 
A kill by Claire Cudney (Marysville, Kan.) off an assist from Sydney Stevelinck (Lyons, Colo.) started the third set. It was followed by a Janjevic-Rudebusch combo to make it 2-0 and then Rudebusch had a service ace and quickly the 'Cats led 3-0.
 
Peru State built its lead to 12 at 23-11 after another Cudney-Stevelinck pairing before the Bobcats eventually won 25-14 on a kill by Janjevic.
 
Fourth Set Action
 
A service ace by Rudebusch, followed by a kill by Janjevic on an assist from Cristina Viera (Montevideo, Uruguay) put the Bobcats up 2-0 in the fourth set. Peru State never trailed in the set although the Statesmen would never go away. A service ace by Janjevic finished off the match.

WM PENN GAME BOOK
 
Statistics
 
Neither team hit the ball particularly well as Peru State finished with a .178 hitting percentage while holding the Statesmen to a .079 percentage.
 
Janjevic led all hitters while finishing with 13 kills on 22 attempts for a .364 hitting percentage. Cudney and Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) each finished with 11 kills. Raechel Knowles (Nassau, Bahamas) and Kira Shapiro (Omaha) finished with seven and six kills respectively.
 
Rudebusch had a game-high 27 assists while Stevelinck added 17.
 
Janjevic and Rudebusch each had three services aces while Stevelinck and Viera each added one.
 
Viera finished with a team-high 15 digs while Alaya Roberts (Cibolo, Texas) added ten digs.
 
Alynah Adams (Kansas City, Mo.) had a game-high two solo blocks and five block assists while Knowles was credited with one solo block. Shapiro added four block assists with Bowman adding two block assists.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will participate in the Bellevue University Labor Day Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1 and 2. On Friday, the 'Cats will face College of the Ozarks (Mo.) at 1 p.m. and then Tabor (Kan.) at 5 p.m. Ozarks has started the season 6-0 while Tabor is 1-0.
 
On Saturday, the Bobcats will face the tourney host at 3 p.m. and then conclude the tournament with a match against Ottawa (Kan.). The Bruins are 2-2 as are the Braves.