The Marshalltown volleyball team didn’t earn a victory in its annual Pat Apgar Invitational, but the Bobcats got a much-needed boost of confidence.

MHS fell to a pair of opponents on Thursday night at the Roundhouse, suffering a sweep at the hands of Solon before taking Waverly-Shell Rock to three sets in the round-robin event.

Solon showed the Bobcats (2-2) what it takes to play at the level they want to be at, marching to a 25-10, 25-6 win over MHS in the first match of the night. Waverly-Shell Rock then defeated the Spartans before staving off a stern challenge from Marshalltown, 25-23, 26-28, 15-7.

Coming off a lackluster victory over Des Moines Hoover two nights earlier inside the Roundhouse, the Bobcats looked a lot more like they team they believe they can be by the time Thursday’s play ended.

“We really needed it,” MHS head coach Jen O’Neal said of Thursday’s finale. “I think we needed it for our own peace of mind, confidence. We just needed to know that we are capable of losing a match and coming back and competing.

“That’s what we talked about — every time you walk out there, no matter who’s on the other side, just compete, and they really, really did that.”

The opener against Solon didn’t go very far toward the Bobcats’ confidence-building. The Spartans (3-1) presented MHS with a front line the likes of which they hadn’t faced off with yet this season, stoning Marshalltown’s attack with its daunting size.

“I think we were maybe a little bit overwhelmed by how good Solon was,” O’Neal said. “Man, they are big. I really want to know what they put in their water. And we hadn’t seen anything like that before.”

Kinsley Bowie led the Bobcats with three kills and eight digs, but MHS was unable to scratch out a service ace against a scrappy Solon squad.

Waverly-Shell Rock’s win over Solon, however, didn’t deter the Bobcats when they got their turn against the Go-Hawks, and that was O’Neal’s favorite part of the evening.

“I was really, really pleased with how we bounced back from the Solon loss because Waverly beat them,” she said. “I was wondering what that game was going to look like and I feel like we learned from (Solon) and talked about still having that belief that we can go up against anybody — and there it was.

“We are very capable as long as we keep working on the things we need to work on and take care of our side of the net.”

Waverly-Shell Rock (4-1) got out to a fast start in the deciding third set, scoring the first four points to prompt a Marshalltown timeout. The Bobcats tried to rally but couldn’t make the climb.

Bella Avise had a team-high nine kills to go with 12-for-12 serving. Harper Wilson had eight kills and two service aces, and Bowie again led with eight digs. Lauren O’Neal finished with 23 assists.

Marshalltown moves back into Iowa Alliance Conference play for its next match, traveling to face Ames on Tuesday night.