Bolivar, Mo. - It was the battle of the purple Bearcats in the Meyer Sports Center on Friday as the Southwest Baptist University women's volleyball team took on McKendree University. SBU ultimately lost in three hard fought sets, moving them to 3-9 on the year and 0-1 in the GLVC.
 
Southwest Baptist got off to a hot start in the first set by scoring the first four points of the game. McKendree battled back, however, tying the game up at six. The two teams then engaged in a tight battle, with neither team ever getting ahead by more than two points. The set was still tied at 21 points a piece when McKendree went on a 4-2 run to win the set 23-25. The second set picked up right where the first set left off, continuing the theme of neither team pulling ahead by more than two until McKendree went up 4-7. SBU still managed to keep it close and even tied the game at 16 after a 4-0 run including two kills from junior Hannah Jackson. Despite Southwest Baptist's best efforts, McKendree regained the lead from the deadlock and went on to end the second set with a 6-1 run. The final score of the second set was 19-25.
 
The third set was perhaps the most heartbreaking for SBU as they came out strong, dominating the set to go ahead 18-11. Freshman Gabriela Dupree was especially on fire, tallying SBU's first five kills of the set. However, momentum shifted in the set as McKendree went on a 10-1 run to make the score 19-21. Southwest Baptist could never gain the momentum back, going on to lose the set 23-25.
 
Despite the unfortunate ending, SBU still had plenty of positive individual performances. Three players tallied ten digs to record double-doubles for the game. The first of these players was Dupree who led both teams in kills with 17 after scoring eight in the third set alone. She now moves to 162 kills through 42 sets played this season, giving her a kills per set average of 3.86. The other two ladies to record double-doubles were SBU's leaders in assists on the night. Freshman Allie Hawk totaled 14 assists, and senior Katie Pogue recorded 11 assists. Hawk also scored a service ace, along with freshman Julia Marinesi and two from freshman Chloe Chafins.
 
Southwest Baptist returns to action on Saturday against the University of Missouri - St. Louis (8-4). The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 pm from the Meyer Sports Center.