(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State College volleyball team took down Heart of America Athletic Conference opponent Mount Mercy in five sets on Friday night at the Al Wheeler Activity Center. The Bobcats won in a set line of 23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 10-25, and 15-11.
Peru State rises to 15-8 overall and 7-5 in Heart action while the Mustangs falls to 16-9 on the season and 9-4 in Conference play.
Tonight was also Senior Night for the volleyball team, as seniors
Shealie Wiebers (Papillion, Nebraska / Papillion-La Vista High School),
Emily Sherman (Norfolk, Nebraska / Norfolk High School),
Teodora Bulatovic (Tivat, Montenegro. / SMŠ "Mladost" Tivat),
Addison Schneider (Humphrey Nebraska / Humphrey High School),
Marina Fenga (Limeria, Brazil. / Colégio Jandyra),
Alina Hoxha (Montecchio Maggiore, Italy. / Liceo Leonardo Da Vinci), and
Chancie Deaton (Payson, Arizona / Payson High School) were all celebrated for their time and efforts within their Bobcat careers.
The opening set kicked off with back-to-back Peru State points until a 9-1 run from Mount Mercy would hand them a six-point advantage (9-3), a 7-3 Bobcat series would cut the lead to two until an 8-4 stretch would extend the Mustang lead back to six (20-14). A 3-2 push from Mount Mercy would bring the score to 23-17 until six-straight scores by Peru State capped off by a Wiebers service ace would knot the set at 23, the Mustangs would find two points to take the first set 25-23.
The second set would see Peru State jump ahead to a 6-3 advantage until Mount Mercy would score five of the next seven to tie the set up at eight, after some back and forth in a 20-point series that featured seven ties and five lead changes the Bobcats would roar by scoring three of the next four to take a two-point lead and force a Mustang timeout (21-19). Mount Mercy would score to cut the advantage to one, but a 4-1 Peru State run would earn the second set 25-21.
Set three would begin with a 7-3 series from the Mustangs to force a Bobcat timeout, a 6-1 stretch would pull Peru State ahead by one but Mount Mercy would answer by finding four of the next five but Peru State responded by scoring the next five straight which was highlighted by back-to-back Wiebers kills to force a Mustang timeout (15-12). Consecutive Mount Mercy points would cut the lead to one, but a 6-2 run would extend the Bobcat lead to five (21-16), The Mustangs would find a 3-1 push in attempts to spark a comeback, until the Bobcats answered by finding a 3-1 run to capture the third set 25-20.
The Fourth began with both teams battling for position as Mount Mercy would hold a one-point lead 4-3, until the Mustangs would find runs of 10-2, 7-5, and scored the last three straight to win the fourth set 25-10.
The fifth and final set began with a 4-2 push from Mount Mercy until a string of Mustang errors would keep the set even at four, three straight blocks would fuel a 4-1 series from Mount Mercy to capture the lead, but three-straight Peru State points knotted the set at eight. Both teams began trading blows until after a Mustang kill to take the lead 11-10, Peru State would launch with five unanswered points that was featured with three kills from
Eden Moore (Eagle, Nebraska / Waverly High School) and claw back to win the set and the match 15-11.
Offensively Moore led the offensive front for the day with 18 kills while Deaton claimed 13 off of an impressive .522 clip, Wiebers and Schneider both claimed 10 kills on the night and
Brinley Falkinburg (Lincoln, Nebraska / Lincoln East) ended with nine kills, Bulatovic found a team-high 33 assists and
Samantha Chesley (Lincoln,Nebraska / Pius X High School) notched 22 overall.
Defensively
Braelyn Braithwaite (Elkhorn, Nebraska / Elkhorn South) paced the squad with 31 total digs while Bulatovic put up 20 overall, Wiebers and Falkinburg both marked 13 digs while Deaton led the blocking efforts with two block assists and one solo block for three total.
Peru State faces a quick turnaround as they take on Conference foe Clarke tomorrow at 12:00 PM in the Al Wheeler Activity Center with varsity reserve kicking off the day at 10:00 AM.
