PERU, Neb. – The York University volleyball team lost a hard fought match at Peru State Wednesday evening by a score of 3-1.

The Panthers are now 0-2 on the season.

Head coach Irick Gardner's team was led by Brianna Lemke's nine-kill effort. Avery Schneider added seven kills while Isidora Pa Diaz chipped in six. Kaylee Weigel posted five kills while Kensey Clifton and Liberty Baker contributed four apiece.

Clifton led the offense with 18 assists and Meadow Nusbaum tallied 15. Both also served up a pair of aces.

Valentina Jimenez was spectacular defensively, leading the charge with 19 digs. Florencia Felmer and Ambar Ortiz garnered nine apiece. Clifton narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs.

The visitors jumped out to a 3-0 lead after kills from Isidora Pa Diaz Aguirre and Kaylee Weigel before a miscue by the home team. Holding a 6-5 lead, Avery Schneider slammed home a kill. Emma Kerley added a point before Meadow Nusbaum served up an ace. An error by Peru State made it 10-5.

The Panthers trailed 16-13 before embarking on a 12-3 run to claim the first set. Down 19-18, Weigel's thunderous kill sparked the 7-0 run for the visitors. Up 23-19, back-to-back errors by Peru State made it 25-19.

Set two saw the Bobcats take control for a 25-14 win.

In a back-and-forth third stanza, a kill from Clifton and an ace from Elena Brown pushed the advantage to 6-3. Moments later, points by Brianna Lemke and Amber White extended the margin to six, 12-6. Moments later, Pa Diaz's kills pushed the score to 15-12. Tied at 16-16, Avery Schneider hammered home a point, but Peru State managed to go on a small run for a 23-19 edge before taking the frame 25-20.

Trailing 17-10 in the third set, Pa Diaz's kill sparked a run by the Panthers. Brianna Lemke added a pair of points while an attack error by Peru State continued the run. However, the three-point deficit was as close as York could get the rest of the way.

The Bobcats slowly pulled away in the fourth set, leading 12-6, before York trimmed the margin to four on an ace by Clifton. Midway through the frame, Lemke accounted for a kill, pulling the visitors within three at 17-14, but Peru State finished the stanza for the 25-16 score.

For the match, York totaled 40 kills and hit .137. The team dished out 36 assists and registered five aces.

The Panthers return to action Friday when they take on Saint Ambrose at 6 p.m., and Waldorf at 8 p.m.