Wildcats Drop Five-Set Match at Peru State in Weekend Finale

PERU, Neb. - After taking a 2-0 lead in the match, the Baker volleyball team had a second straight road win snatched away from them as the Wildcats suffered a tough 3-2 loss at Peru State on Saturday.

BU cruised to a 25-17 win in set one before taking the second, 26-24, but the Bobcats stormed all the way back and won three straight sets (28-26, 25-22, 17-15) to force Baker to settle for a split of its weekend road trip.

Aby Widhalm recorded a season-high in both kills (24) and digs (26), while Kaitlyn Stout added 18 kills to help lead the BU attack. Alyssa Champane put up her best numbers of the fall with 29 assists, 11 digs and five aces. Taryn Dial chipped in 28 assists and also had 11 digs.

It was Kylie Murray who sparked an early 8-3 run for BU in the first set, following up one of her three kills of the opening set with an ace before the Wildcats stretched their lead out to double digits with a 10-3 run. The Bobcats would cut it to a seven-point lead, but a dump by Champane finished things off in a comfortable opening-set win for BU.

After some early kills from Widhalm and Meredith Brown, the Wildcats started to heat up from the service line with an ace by Grace Wood, followed up by a stack of three straight from Champane to push BU out in front, 11-7. PSC worked back to tie the set midway through and the two teams traded rallies to send it to extra points where back-to-back attacks from Stout and Olivia Deichmann sealed the Wildcats' 26-24 win.

In set three, Baker looked to be in control once again, building an early three-point cushion at 13-10. The Bobcats reeled off an 8-2 run though to start to gain some traction. Another ace from Wood tied the set at 21-all, but the Bobcats staved off a match-point situation and won three straight points to take an extended third set, 28-26.

Peru State carried over the momentum into set four where the hosts jumped out to a 15-10 lead. Trailing by seven, the Wildcats cooked up an 8-2 run of their own with an ace by Kierstyn Harmon making it a one-point ballgame. Baker's rally faltered from there as PSC won three of the final four points to force a fifth set.

The fifth set started off with a couple more aces from Champane as the decisive set stayed even until the Wildcats built a three-point lead at 10-7. The tenacious Bobcats mustered up their final and biggest rally, putting together an 8-4 stretch to complete their comeback with a 17-15 win in the final set.

The Wildcats are now 1-3 in five-set matches this year with a win in their previous one before today on a 3-2 victory over Missouri Valley to start October.

Sitting at 10-8 overall and 3-6 in Heart play, Baker makes a quick appearance at home on Tuesday before heading out for another road stint next weekend. The Wildcats will take on No. 25 Benedictine on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Collins Center.

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