MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The St. Thomas University Bobcats (1-3) wrapped up the season opening STU Invitational Presented by Legacy Team Sales with a four-set loss to Missouri Valley College (4-1) at the Fernandez Family Center on Saturday morning.

STU lost the first set by a score of 25-14 and dropped the second set of the match as well 25-12 to fall behind 2-0.

In the third set of the match, St. Thomas came out of the break with a fast start, opening the set with a commanding 8-3 lead and did not look back as the Bobcats dominated the match from wire to wire, winning 25-11. STU was led offensively in the set by Arianna Bolinger and Nathaly Alvarez each totaled four kills with Alvarez also adding 12 assists and a block. Krista Kolbinskie was the anchor on the defensive end providing St. Thomas with eight digs in the set.

The fourth set of the match provided the highlight of the match in a tightly contested effort by both teams. The scoring differential between STU and MVC was never higher than three points over the course of the set, which featured ten ties and eleven lead changes before Missouri Valley College took the set and defeated St. Thomas with a score of 25-22. Carli Batsel added four kills in the set and Alvarez contributed another 12 assists.

Overall for the match the leaders for the Bobcats were Alvarez with 31 assists, Bollinger with nine kills and Kolbinskie finished with 17 digs.

St. Thomas will return to action next with more tournament action, traveling up to Lake Wales, Fla. to participate in the Warner tournament, taking on McPherson College and Florida College on August 31^st starting at 11:30 a.m.

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