Peru State College Athletics

(Peru, Neb.)- A 19-25 loss of set three would see the Peru State College Volleyball team face a 1-2 match score going into set four, but a dominant 25-16 fourth set would set up the Bobcats to grind out a 15-12 fifth set to beat Grand View 3-2 in the Al Wheeler Activity Center on Thursday night. Peru State would best the Vikings in an overall score line of 26-24, 13-25, 19-25, 25-16 and 15-12.
 
The win rises Peru State to 18-10 on the season and 10-7 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play while Grand View would fall to 18-11 overall and 12-6 in Conference action.
 
The Vikings would jump to an early 5-1 advantage to start the opening set until the Bobcats responded through a 7-1 series to pull ahead by two (8-6), a 5-3 Grand View stretch would knot the set at 11 and neither team could find positioning in a 18-point series that saw eight ties and five lead changes as the score would still be locked at 20. Peru State would score three of the next five to grab a one-point advantage and force a Viking timeout (23-22) where they would utilize back-to-back kills to take back the lead and force a Bobcat timeout (24-23). Peru State would exit the timeout and find consecutive kills to take the lead at 25-24, a Grand View error on the following point would deliver the Bobcats the first set 26-25.
 
The Vikings would use an 11-3 burst to begin the second set and after a 3-1 Peru State spurt would cut the lead to six (12-6), a 6-2 push would force a Bobcat timeout (18-8). The Bobcats found a 3-1 run out of the timeout (19-11), but Grand View would find six of the next eight to claim set two 25-13.
 
After a Viking kill would open the third set, Peru State would answer with a 7-0 stretch which saw two block assists and a kill from Chancie Deaton (Payson, Ariz. / Payson High School) to earn a six-point advantage (7-1) until Grand View would respond through six-straight points to tie the set and force a Bobcat timeout (7-7). Peru State scored two of the next three points to take back the lead (9-8) but a 5-1 push from the Vikings would capture a three-point lead (13-10). Two Bobcat points would slice the lead to one (13-12) before Grand View took control through an 8-1 run to pull the advantage to eight and force the final home timeout of the set (21-13). Peru State utilized a 6-2 series fueled by three kills from Eden Moore (Eagle, Neb. / Waverly High School) to cut the advantage to four (23-19) but a Viking block followed by a kill would see Grand View take set three 25-19.
 
Grand View would begin set four with a 4-2 push to take the lead until an 11-2 explosion highlighted by kills from five different Bobcats would claim the lead 13-6, an 8-5 series from the Vikings would drop the advantage to four 18-14 but Peru State would deliver a 7-2 strike capped off by a solo block from Alexus Ford (Alma, Kansas / Wabaunsee High School) to win the fourth set 25-16.
 
The fifth and final set kicked off with a 5-3 push from Grand View to hold a two-point edge, back-to-back kills from Moore would spark a 5-2 spurt for the Bobcats to take a one-point lead (8-7). Both teams began swapping points until after a Viking kill would even the set at nine, Peru State would score three of the next four spearheaded by two points from Shealie Wiebers (Papillion, Nebraska / Papillion-La Vista High School) to boast a two-point advantage (12-10). Grand View would find a 2-1 bump to cut the lead to one (13-12), but Moore would slam down a kill followed by a error from the Vikings to pull off the victory 15-12.
 
Offensively Wiebers shined through a 20-kill performance where the senior also saw 19 digs and four service aces on the night, Brinley Falkinburg (Lincoln, Nebraska / Lincoln East High School) notched 12 kills on a .312 clip while Moore logged 11 kills in the game. Teodora Bulatovic (Tivat, Montenegro. / SMŠ "Mladost" Tivat) paced the team with 30 assists while Samantha Chesley (Lincoln, Nebraska / Pius X High School) put up 12.
 
Defensively Braelyn Braithwaite (Elkhorn, Nebraska / Elkhorn South High School) would total 22 digs while Bulatovic would find 14 and Chesley would see 10, Addison Schneider (Humphrey, Nebraska / Humphrey High School) led the blocking efforts through three block assists and two solo stuffs while Deaton followed with two block assists and a solo block.
 
The Bobcats return to the Al Wheeler Activity Center tomorrow where they square off against Conference foe William Penn in the final contest of the regular season. The match begins at 7:00 PM and the Peru Association of Student Athletes (PASA) is hosting a Halloween Costume Contest during the game, the top two costumes will win prices between sets.