Box Score (Peru, Neb.)—On Tuesday night the Peru State volleyball team finished the season on a high note with a 3-1 victory over conference foe Graceland on senior night. The Bobcats finish the season with a 7-22 overall record and a 4-15 Heart of America Athletic Conference record. The Yellowjackets finish their season 8-23 overall and 3-16 in conference play.
 
Below is a breakdown of how each set in the match went…
 
Peru State would get out to a hot start in the first set as they were up 7-2 with the help of three straight aces from Sidney Peck (Manitoba, Canada). Graceland would fight back as a 7-2 run of its own tied the first set at nine apiece.
 
The Bobcats and Yellowjackets would trade a few more points as the first was tied 11-11 after a kill from Katie Mendick (Bellevue). The Yellowjackets then were able to muster a 7-1 run to take a 18-12 lead.
 
A kill by Kim Krise (Briggsdale, Colo.) would stop the Yellowjacket run. The Bobcats were able to get the deficit to within in six points down 20-14 but the Bobcats could never get a rally going as they would fall in the first set 25-16.
 
The second set was one of the wildest sets all year for the Bobcats. It was a back-and-forth affair for almost the entire set as neither team could get a lead. The Bobcats would have a 6-4 lead early after an error by the Yellowjackets and an ace by Michelle Beer (Salem).
 
The Yellowjackets would immediately tie the game and the teams would then trade points up until 14-14. Graceland would then get a two-point 16-14 advantage.
 
The Bobcats roared back with a 6-0 run to take a 20-16 lead. Kills by Krise and Kylee Fischer (Bellevue) along with errors from the Yellowjackets helped the run.
 
Graceland then went on a 7-3 to tie the game at 23 apiece. A kill by Mendick had the game tied at 24 and each time there was a set point the other team would match.
 
Mendick would be the hero in set two as a kill would have the Bobcats even the match at 1-1 with a 32-30 set win.
 
There were seven set points in the second set for Peru State.
 
Graceland came out in set three swinging as they led 7-3 early. A 9-3 run by the Bobcats had them retake the lead at 12-10, with help of kills from Beer, Krise and Mendick and a few block assists from Fischer, Mendick and Miller.
 
Graceland would get within one down 12-11, but Peru State kept its foot on the gas as they went on a 7-2 run to extend its lead out to six 19-13. Kills by Beer, Krise and Miller attributed to the run.
 
The Yellowjackets would go down swinging in the third set as they went on a 6-2 run and only trailed by two 21-19. Peru State then finished off Graceland winning the third set 25-21.
 
The Yellowjackets were up early in the fourth set as they took an early 5-2 lead. The Bobcats then would go on a 6-2 run to take a one point lead up 8-7. Graceland and Peru State then would trade points up to 9-9, before Peru State went on another run.
 
The Bobcats went on an 8-1 run to take a 17-10 lead in the fourth. Contributing to the run was kills by Miller and Mendick and multiple aces by Chantal Paniagua (Santo Domingo, D.R.).
  
Graceland would get within six down 20-14 but would only score one more point as the Bobcats won the set 25-15 and won the match 3-1.
 
Krise led the way in kills with 15, Mendick finished with 13 and Miller had nine. Peck had four aces while Paniagua had three and Mattie Nichols (Auburn) had one.
 
Miller had six blocks on the night while Fischer and Krise had two. Rylee Hellbusch (Plattsmouth) led the way in assists with 23, Olivia Gordon (Oskaloosa, Iowa) finished with 19 and Nichols had three.
 
Nichols led the way in digs with 15, Paniagua had 11 and Peck finished with eight.
 
The Peru State athletic department would like to thank seniors Mattie Nichols and Jaime Copenharve (Omaha) for their contributions to the Bobcat volleyball program. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.