Dowagiac Daily News

In a very entertaining non-conference match between Dowagiac and visiting Niles, defense was the name of the game for both sides.

The Lady Vikings swept the Chieftains in three sets, but it didn’t come without a fight.

Niles defeated Dowagiac 25-21, 25-23 and 25-14.

After the two teams battled back and fourth in the first set, Niles was able to pull away late to earn the victory.

The Chieftains had a great chance to win the second set, leading 22-19 after back-to-back service winners by Alyssa Greenwood.

But the Lady Vikings came roaring back behind the net play of Rachel Zeider.

Ashley Allison cut the lead to 22-21 with a kill and Sarah Ferguson tied the match at 22 with another kill.

From there it was the Zeider show.

Zeider made it 23-22 and then gave the Lady Vikings set point with another kill.

A Dowagiac hitting error gave Niles the second game.

The final score might look a bit lopsided, but the Chieftains battle for every point in the third and deciding set.

A trio of Allison service winners staked the Lady Vikings to a 12-8 advantage.

Dowagiac cut the lead to 13-10, but kills by Zeider and Ashley Love made it a 15-10 contest.

Niles outscored the Chieftains 9-2 over the next few minutes to open up a 22-11 lead.

Ferguson had a kill and Allison two more kills to wrap up the match.

Zeider led the Lady Vikings with 10 kills, while Allison had nine and Love six.

Allison paced the team in digs with eight. Brea Haines, Taylor Brandstatter and Brittney Buti finished with seven, six and five respectively.

Becca Lewis had 28 assists and two aces. Allison also had two aces.

Kaisha Martin had a team-high nine kills for the Chieftains, while Andrea Bradshaw had four blocks.

Taylor Gross led Dowagiac with 23 digs. Keslie Primley, moved up from the junior varsity, finished with 12 digs. Devon Ownby had eight digs.

Hojara, Greenwood and Gross all had three aces. Danielle Taylor finished with 19 assists and Hojara eight.

Niles also won the freshmen and junior varsity matches.