Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (Peru, Neb.)—This past weekend the Bobcat volleyball team hit the road for a tri-match as they faced Central Christian College and Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas on Friday night. Unfortunately, Peru State lost a heartbreaker in the first match after being up two sets to zero and ended up losing in five. Sterling handled Peru State as they swept the Bobcats who fell to 0-2 to start the season.
 
Below is a breakdown of how each of the first two matches went:
 
Game 1  vs. Central Christian College
 
The Bobcats started out the first set hot as they found themselves with an early 9-3 lead after a kill by Michelle Beer (Salem). The Tigers would strike back quickly with a 6-1 run of their own closing the gap to one as Peru State held onto a 10-9 lead.
 
Later in the first set the 'Cats went on an 8-1 run capped off by a Kennedy Miller (Plattsmouth) kill as they now lead 19-11. CCC closed the gap to five points a couple of times later in the first set, but they were unable to come back as Peru State won the first set 25-17.
 
The second set was a back-and-forth affair for much of the early going as the Tigers and the Bobcats traded blows. The Bobcats separated a little bit later in the set as a Katie Mendick (Bellevue) kill had the 'Cats with a 14-10 lead. Peru State held the four-point cushion for a lot of the second set. The Tigers then came back with a run of their own as a 7-2 run from CCC closed the gap to one 22-21.
 
Peru State did not let CCC score again in the set as a Mendick kill ended set two with a 25-21 Bobcat win.
 
In the third set, the 'Cats raced out to a 19-9 lead off a kill from Mendick. The Tigers then came storming back as they cut the lead to two 22-20 on an 11-3 run. The Bobcats than scored the next two points from a couple of kills by Miller as they were a match point away from a sweep. The Tigers then went on a 5-0 run to take a surprising 26-24 win as the game would continue into the fourth set.
 
The fourth set was another back-and-forth affair as no one could get a lead of more than four points. Late in the fourth, the 'Cats had three kills in a row to cut the lead to one as Kim Krise (Briggsdale, Colo.) got the kill to trim the lead to 21-20. The Tigers then won the next five points as they tied the match at two apiece and the Tigers and Bobcats headed to a decisive fifth set.
 
The 'Cats and the Tigers were neck and neck for much of the fifth set as each time Peru tried to pull away the Tigers would be right there one to two points away from tying the game. Miller had a kill to put the 'Cats up 10-7 in the fifth. The Tigers then went on an 8-0 rally to put the Bobcats away as they won the fifth and final set 15-10 for a comeback 3-2 victory.
 
Miller led the way in kills in game one as she had 16, Beer and Mendick tied for second with 12 each. Allie Schneider (Humphrey) led the way in aces with five, Beer led the way in blocks with two, Olivia Gordon (Oskaloosa, Iowa) had 22 assists and Mattie Nichols (Auburn) finished with 23 digs.
 
Game 2 vs. Sterling College
 
In the first set of the second game the 'Cats raced out to a 9-2 lead against the Warriors. The Warriors climbed back with a 9-2 run of their own as the set was tied 11-11. The 'Cats and the Warriors matched each other nearly point for point almost the rest of the way as the set was then tied at 19-19 after Ofaloto Moungaafi (West Valley City, Utah) had given the 'Cats a 19-18 lead.
 
The Warriors had the last laugh in the first set as they went on a 7-0 run and would win the first set 25-19.
 
In the beginning of the second set the teams were still exchanging point for point early. The second set then snowballed as the Warriors finished what started out as a competitive set on a 10-0 run and defeating the Bobcats 25-12.
 
The final set of the three started out much like the first two as both teams would score points back and forth on each other. The Warriors then started to extend their lead and would not let go of the stronghold they had on the Bobcats. Sterling went on a 6-0 run as they broke the final set open now led 16-9. The Bobcats could not cut into the lead past six points and the Warriors had one final 7-2 run as they would win 25-13 sweeping the Bobcats. Peru State would drop to 0-2 on the season.
 
Schneider led the way in kills with six as Beer and Miller were behind her with five and four respectively. There was three-way tie for aces as Krise, Sidney Peck (Manitoba, Canada) and Schneider all tied with two, Schneider led the way in assists with 13 and Nichols again led in the digs category with eight.
 
Peru State heads back to Kansas this week to take on Southwestern College,in Winfield, Kan., at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 24.