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BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The SBU Bearcat volleyball team rallied to defeat the Missouri Southern Lions in five sets, to earn their first home win of the season. The Bearcats had four players in double digit kills led by senior Kelsey Stewart with 16. Kylie Heim had 13 kills, while Ashley Jurgensmeyer and Alex Smith had 12 each. Jurgensmeyer had .429 attack percentage. Three players were also in double digits in digs with Lauren Noble leading the way with 31. Brianna Wallace had 17 digs while Smith added 14. Wallace also had 54 assists setting up the SBU attack.

The Bearcats (12-23, 5-13 MIAA) raced out a 7-1 lead in the first set, forcing an MSSU timeout. The Lions would cut the margin to 9-5 before SBU dominated the rest of the opener, winning 25-10. Missouri Southern (12-23, 6-13 MIAA) rallied back to take the second and third sets. It was the Lions who controlled things in the second, jumping out to a 7-0 margin and leading by as much as 22-9, before winning 25-14. Things were much tighter in the third set, with the largest lead being six points for the visitors at the end of the set. MSSU would take set number three at 25-19.

SBU came out more aggressive in the fourth set and it worked as they led 11-4 at the start. Southern would cut the margin to 16-14 before SBU would go on a 9-4 run to end the match (25-18) behind strong serves from Noble and net play from Jurgensmeyer and Heim.

In the final set, the teams were deadlocked initially before SBU moved to a 9-5 edge. Back came MSSU with six straight points, before the Bearcats closed things off with 6-1 to win 15-12. Heim and Joanna Granzow had big blocks down the stretch to seal the win.

"We were definitely very proud of our girls for continuing to fight through the ups and downs of the match," said head coach Kelly Richardson. "We were happy with their resilience. especially at the end, down 11-9 in the fifth set. They re-focused and fought through to get the win. Kylie (Heim) was a huge presence up front and was our top point generator. Ashley (Jurgensmeyer) and Kelsey (Stewart) were great as well -- just a solid effort all around. We need to sustain that energy and effort tomorrow against Pitt State."

SBU plays their final match of 2009 on Saturday afternoon when they host #21 Pittsburg State at 2 p.m. The Bearcats will honor Stewart, a four-year player for SBU, in pregame ceremonies.