(Peru, Neb.) – Earlier in the week, the Bobcat volleyball coaches were trying to figure out how Peru State was going to defeat Clarke on the road Friday night. The reason why they had their heads together was that the Pride had swept the ranked Grand View Vikings earlier in the week.
 
The result of the head scratching was that Peru State just needed to play their ball game and not worry about anything else. That resulted in the 'Cats upsetting Clarke in a long, five-set match.
 
The Bobcats won 16-25, 25-21, 28-26, 15-25, 15-13 to improve to 5-15 overall and 2-3 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart). Clarke fell to 12-5 on the season and also are now 2-3 in Heart competition.

 
No play-by-play was provided so that will not be shared, but one can tell by the scores of several of the sets that the match was tight throughout.

CLARKE BOX SCORE
 
Team Statistics
 
Peru State hit .172 in the match while Clarke finished just slightly lower at .165. The Pride did have a few more kills – 57 – than the 'Cats who finished with 51.
 
The Pride served up seven aces, but misfired ten times. Peru State had only two ace serves and had five errors.
 
The Bobcats finished with 76 digs and eight total blocks compared to 73 digs and six total blocks for the Pride.
 
Peru Individual Statistics
 
Dawson Sharman (Sidney) led the Bobcats with 14 kills while hitting .294. Mallory Matthies (Omaha) added 13 kills and hit .273. Claire Cudney (Marysville, Kan.) added eight kills while Tyra Mollhoff (Lincoln) finished with seven and hit .353. Alyssa Childers (Lincoln) had five kills.
 
Darlene Quinonez Holguin (Anthony, N.M.) and Cassie Davis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the team with 22 and 20 assists respectively.
 
Quinonez Holguin and Sharman each had one service ace.

 
Cudney led the defensive efforts with 22 digs while Sharman added 19. Cheyenne Birkle (Holden, Mo.) added 12 digs with Davis digging up eight.
 
Mollhoff finished with one solo block and three block assists. Childers added four block assists while Cudney was credited with three. Sharman added two block assists while Matthies added one.
 
Upcoming Competition
 
The Bobcats will be playing Mount Mercy at 2 p.m. Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Mustangs are 11-6 on the season and are presently 1-3 in Heart play.
 
Peru State will then be at home next Tuesday and Friday nights, Oct. 1 and Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. The Bellevue Bruins will be the guests Tuesday night. Bellevue was ranked 14^th in the most reason coaches' poll. The Bruins are currently 13-4 on the year.
 
Friday's night opponent, the Grand View Vikings, are 12-7 on the year, and are 6-1 in the Heart.