PERU – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 2011 Daktronics-NAIA Volleyball Scholar-Athletes. Six Peru State College (PSC) volleyball players are among the 392 players across the country who were honored.

Seniors Kelsey Monahan (Atkinson), Carly Morehead (Fairbury), Maddy Lister (North Platte), Katlyn Donovan (Greeley), and Emily Maresh (Central City), along with junior Becky Boshart (Wood River) were the six Bobcats earning the recognition. For Monahan, this was her second time receiving the honor. Maresh, technically a junior eligibility-wise, has earned enough credits to be classified as a senior academically.

The scholar-athletes were nominated by Bobcat head coach Lexie Baack and associate athletic director/sports information director Ted L. Harshbarger. Each student-athlete has to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must be a junior academically to qualify.

PERU – “Lexie Baack, Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball coach, has announced her resignation at the end of the contract year,” stated PSC athletic director, Steve Schneider.

Schneider added, “We appreciate Lexie's six years of service which saw her teams win 91 games and compete in several of the conference tournaments at the end of the year.”

Baack's 2011 team finished with an 11-18 record making her overall record as a Bobcat coach with 91 wins and 97 losses. This was the first year for the 'Cats in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) after having competed during Baack's first five years in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC).

PERU – After finishing their first year of competition in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC), four Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball players earned all-conference recognition.

Senior Carly Morehead (Fairbury) was the lone Bobcat to be named to the 14-member HAAC All-Conference First Team. Junior Emily Maresh (Central City) earned second team honors. Senior Maddy Lister (North Platte) and sophomore Jessie Clark (Omaha) were given honorable mention recognition.

Morehead, a 6-0 middle blocker, led the Bobcats in several categories and was among the top 20 in the HAAC as well. The four categories were attack percentage of .245, total service aces with 38, total blocks with 117, and blocks per set with 1.1 per set. In the HAAC, Morehead finished second in total kills with 240, third in blocks per set with 1.1, fourth in service aces per set with 0.4, tied for fifth in total service aces with 38, sixth in hitting percentage, sixth in total blocks with 117, 19th in kills per set with 2.3, and 19th with total kills of 105.

The 5-7 libero, Maresh was among the conference and team leaders in the defensive categories. Maresh finished with 556 digs averaging 5.0 digs per sent to lead the Bobcats. She finished second on the Bobcat team with 35 service aces averaging 0.3 aces per set. In the HAAC, Maresh finished second with total digs, third in digs per set with 5.0, tied for ninth in aces per set, and tied for 12th with total aces.

Lister, the 5-10 outside hitter, led the Bobcats with 2.6 kills per set and total kills of 276. She finished as the team leader with total kills of 276, fifth in hitting percentage with .158 and sixth on the team in both total blocks and blocks per set with 43 and 0.4 respectively. In the HAAC, Lister tied with Clark for 11th in average kills per set and 13th in total kills with 276.

The 5-10 sophomore outside hitter, Clark had several top finishes for both the team and in the HAAC. Clark finished second in kills per set with 2.6, third in total kills with 229, fourth in Bobcat hitting percentage with .165, and fifth in service aces per set with 0.1. In the HAAC, Clark tied for 11th in average kills per set.

The Bobcats finished 11-18 overall and 4-5 in their inaugural season of the HAAC. They advanced to the first round of the HAAC conference tournament and fell to Evangel University in five.

Bobcat volleyball head coach Lexie Baack was pleased with the recognition earned by her players. Baack said, “We knew going into the HAAC that we were going to be playing in a tough conference. To have four players earn honors the first year, that is pretty good. I am especially happy for the seniors who have brought a lot to the team the past two years.”

PERU – After playing some of their best volleyball in the final couple of weeks of the season, the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball team almost pulled off another upset. However, it was not to be. The sixth-seed Bobcats fell to the third-seeded Evangel University Crusaders in Springfield, Mo., in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) quarterfinals.

The Crusaders defeated the Bobcats 25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25, 15-9. With the win, the Crusaders move on to the HAAC semifinals. Evangel will travel to MidAmerica Nazarene University to play the second-seeded Pioneers on Nov. 9.

With the loss, Peru State finishes the season with an 11-18 record. In their inaugural season in the HAAC, the Bobcats finished with a 4-5 conference record, good for sixth in the ten-team league.

Earlier in the season, the Crusaders had swept the Bobcats in three straight at the Al Wheeler Activity Center on PSC's campus. Saturday's game was different as it was definitely close throughout and the Bobcats even overcame the two-game deficit to come back and win the next two, forcing the fifth and final game. The Bobcats did hold the NAIA's second-best hitter to only .029 hitting percentage during the game, forcing other Crusaders to step up.

Playing some of her best ball near the end of the season, Maddy Lister (North Platte) in her final game in a Bobcat uniform, led the team with 16 kills. Lister added two digs and one assist.

Also playing in her final game for PSC was Carly Morehead. Morehead had nine kills, seven digs, and six block assists. Carrie Lierz (Holton, Kan.) added eight kills, three digs, and one block assist.

Another senior in her final game, Katlyn Donovan (Greeley) had seven kills while hitting a team-high .353. Donovan also had five block assists, three digs, and two assists. Tara Carstens (Lincoln) finished with five kills and one block assist.

Courtney Jurek (Bellevue) was the Bobcats' top setter with 23 assists. Jurek added 11 digs and one service ace. Amanda Gilreath (Omaha) added 13 assists and six digs.

As she did all season, Emily Maresh (Central City) led the team defensively with 32 digs. Maresh also had one service ace. Following her junior season, Maresh stands tenth in the Bobcats' career records for digs and service receptions.

Becky Boshart (Wood River) and senior Kelsey Monahan (Atkinson) also finished in double digits for digs. Boshart had 18 and Monahan added 11 and had one service ace.

In addition to the four seniors mentioned previously, Rachel Rippe (Johnson) and Nyahok Duop (Urbandale, Iowa) completed their Bobcat volleyball careers.

Peru, Neb.) – While looking to pull off an upset and change their final regular season standings, the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball team almost did so on Tuesday night. Taking on the league-leading Baker University Wildcats, the Bobcats fell in Baldwin City, Kan., 26-24, 26-24, 26-24.

With the win, Baker became the undefeated regular season champions of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) with a perfect 9-0 league mark. Overall, the Wildcats finished the season 24-10. Peru State finished the regular season with a 4-5 HAAC mark, good for sixth in the conference, and 11-17 overall. Baker did receive ratings points in the latest NAIA poll.

PERU – Playing against some different opponents, including one NCAA DII team, the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball team won three of four games in the Grand View University Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa, over the weekend.

Peru State improved their overall record to 9-16 following the tournament with wins over the University of Sioux Falls (9-22), Jamestown College (N.D.) (20-12), and AIB College of Business (Iowa) (1-20). Their only loss came at the hands of Illinois Tech (14-16).

University of Sioux Falls

PERU – For the second time this season, Emily Maresh, junior libero for Peru State College (PSC), was named as the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Libero of the Week.

Emily Maresh earned her second HAAC Libero of the Week honor (file photo from Grace game)
Maresh, from Central City, proved to be a defensive standout for the Bobcats during a 3-1 weekend at the Grand View University Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.

During the tournament, Maresh collected 91 digs for a 5.35 average per set while also firing eight service aces in the four games. In PSC’s four-set win over the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.), Maresh had 27 digs and five serve aces. Later, in the Bobcats’ five-set win over Jamestown College (N.D.), she had 21 digs and another service ace.

PERU – In a game featuring former teammates and another area player, the Bellevue University (BU) Bruins defeated the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcats at the Johnson-Brock High School gymnasium in Johnson, Neb. The Bruins, now 19-5 on the year, topped the ‘Cats, who fell to 6-14 as Bellevue won 25-17, 25-19, 26-24. This was a non-conference match-up featuring Bobcat Rachel Rippe (Johnson) and

In the first set, the teams traded points and it was tied at 6-6 before Bellevue jumped to an 11-6 lead before PSC scored again. Peru State would get as close as 12-9 in the set, but that was as close as the ‘Cats would get. Bellevue would eventually go up by nine points, before the Bobcats would score some to make it closer.

Bellevue scored the first two points of the game before PSC got on the board and stretched it to a nine-point lead before the Bobcats would whittle away at the deficit. Peru State got back as close as three points on two different occasions late in the game before BU eventually won the game.

PERU – For the first time this fall, the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball team has won three games in a row.

On Saturday, Oct. 8, the Bobcats travelled to Fayette, Mo., and defeated their second straight Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) team, Central Methodist University (CMU). PSC won 25-21, 17-25, 25-18, 25-15.

The ‘Cats are now are 6-13 overall and 2-3 in the HAAC while CMU is 1-5 in the HAAC and 5-14 for the year. With the win, PSC is now seventh in the HAAC standings and still has four conference games remaining.

For just the second time this season, the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat volleyball team won their second game in a row. In a non-conference game in Omaha, the Bobcats defeated the Grace University (GU) Royals 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21. With the win, PSC improved to 5-13 while Grace fell to 12-6.

Senior Maddy Lister (North Platte) had 12 kills to lead the Bobcats for the fifth game in a row with kills. Lister also added four digs and two assists in the Bobcat triumph. Jessie Clark (Omaha) was also in double figures in kills with ten. Clark also had three digs and one of the team’s three service aces.

Carly Morehead (Fairbury) and Tara Carstens (Lincoln) each added seven kills while Courtney Jurek (Bellevue), from her setter’s role, added six kills. Morehead topped the blockers with two solo blocks. In addition, Jurek led the team with 18 assists and had 14 digs and one service ace. PSC’s other setter in their 6-2 offense, Amanda Gilreath (Omaha) contributed 13 assists and five digs in the win.