(Peru, Neb.) – A hot start did not translate into a hot finish as the Peru State volleyball team saw their 2018 season come to an end with a loss in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) quarterfinals.
 
The Benedictine (BC) Ravens defeated Peru State Saturday night 15-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 to move on in the Heart Championship with a 17-13 record. The 'Cats finished their season with a 12-21 record.
 
First Set Action
 
After Benedictine scored the first point, a kill by Taylor Thompson (Norfolk) off an assist from Kira Shapiro (Omaha) put the Bobcats on the board. A Raven attack error made it 2-1, but BC came back with a kill to knot the score. A service error put Peru State on top, but the Ravens rattled off three straight points to lead 5-3.

 
A kill by Nadja Janjevic (Podgorica, Montenegro) started a run of four points for Peru State and the 'Cats never trailed after that point in the first set. Yorgelys Jaspe (San Carlos, Venezuela) tied the score at 5-5 with a kill from Thompson and an attack error put the Bobcats in the lead. Jaspe would follow with a kill on an overpass to make it 7-5.
 
Peru State's first five-point lead came at 13-8 on another Raven error. The Bobcats continued to build on the lead and would rattle off the final six points – the final three were all Benedictine hitting errors.
 
Second Set Action
 
Benedictine scored the first three points before Janjevic got the 'Cats on the board with a kill off an assist from Hannah Burianek (Lincoln). The Ravens would lead 10-6 before Peru State would score six straight points to take the lead.
 
A kill by Shapiro on an assist from Darlene Quinonez Holguin (Las Cruces, N.M.) started the string and then Janjevic and Burianek would hook up to make it 12-10.
 
After the Ravens tied it at 12-12, Thompson put down a kill. Then, BC rattled off eight straight points and forced Peru State to play catch up and they could not do it.
 
Third Set Action
 
The Ravens totally dominated the third set as they jumped out to a 12-2 lead with the Bobcats struggling to put points on the board. The ten-point deficit was about as close as the 'Cats would be in the entire set.
 
Fourth Set Action
 
A 2-0 start by the Ravens was stopped with a kill from Jaspe from Burianek. But, again, another run by BC, this time of five points, forced Peru State to have to fight from behind again.

 
Peru State was within five in the middle of the set at 16-11 after Shapiro put down a kill from Quinonez Holguin, but that was as close as the Bobcats would be as the Ravens won the quarterfinal matchup.
 
Team Statistics
 
After Peru State hit a blistering .444 in the first set, they finished the match hitting .208 while Benedictine finished at .275.
 
The Ravens served up seven aces while Peru State had five. BC also had more digs at 50 compared to 43 for the 'Cats. Benedictine also had one more total block than the Bobcats as they finished with seven.
 
Peru Individual Statistics
 
Jaspe was the only Bobcat to finish in double digits with kills as she had 11. Thompson added 7 while hitting .353 and Shapiro contributed six. Tyra Mollhoff (Lincoln) and Janjevic each finished with five while hitting .571 and .364 respectively.
 
Quinonez Holguin led the team with 16 assists while Burianek was one behind.
 
Quinonez Holguin and Janjevic each had two service aces with Burianek finishing with one.
 
Claire Cudney (Marysville, Kan.) led the team with a game-high 14 digs. Arianna Waschowski (Bellevue) had six digs while Thompson contributed five.

 
Quinonez Holguin was credited with a solo block while Mollhoff had three block assists. Janjevic added two block assists.
 
Final Contest for Five Seniors
 
It was the final match for seniors Thompson, Shapiro, Janjevic, Cami Ruiz (Bogota, Columbia), and Jaspe.