Portage Central’s volleyball team had a height advantage over Niles in Wednesday’s Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference match.

But Vikings coach Linda Martin didn’t see that as being the reason why her team fell to the Mustangs, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23, in Niles’ home opener.

“What they had more was speed,” said Martin. “They have a great passing core and a phenomenal setter (Erika Nord) that plays the game at a speed that were not used to. We can’t emulate that in practice. We did better against their speed by game three. We just have to get better at playing the game at a faster pace.”

Speed put Portage Central in better position to get the ball to their terrific offensive duo of 6-foot Sarah Heckman and 5-foot-10 Elle Humphries. Heckman finished with 11 kills and Humphries totaled eight.

“Sarah Heckman is very tough to stop in the middle,” said Portage Central coach Dawn Jaquq. “She’s playing with a lot of confidence and when we handle the ball well and get the ball to her she’s a very challenging player to go against.”

Heckman’s six kills in game one helped the Mustangs hold off the Vikings. Portage Central took the lead for good at 5-4 after getting a kill from Heckman. After Niles pulled within 14-13 after getting a kill Miranda Baker, Portage Central went on an 11-3 run to win game one. Humphries kill clinched the game for the visitors.

Niles led 7-5 in game two before Portage Central went on an 11-4 run to take a 16-11 lead. The Vikings couldn’t get any closer than three points the rest of game two.

“I that we’re playing a little streaky,” Martin said. “We allow too many points to go at once. I tried to burn some time-outs to stop the bleeding. There’s probably something about the fact that we had three sophomores on the court a lot of the time, plus a freshman. We just need more experience in the middle.”

In game three, Portage Central had a hard time putting away Niles. The Vikings erased a 16-11 deficit and took a 21-20 lead. But Niles was unable to maintain an advantage as Portage Central went on a 4-0 run and eventually won the game, 25-23, and the match on a kill from Heckman.

The play of freshman Kylee Myer in game three pleased Martin.

“Sarah Heckman is probably one of the best players in the state at her position and it was super inspiring for our team for Kylee Myer as a freshman to come in and stuff block her twice in game three,” Martin said. “As a freshman, (Myer) is starting the embrace the position of playing the middle.”

Baker had six kills to lead Niles offensively.

“Miranda Baker is a girl that plays club all year long and played with a high performance team from Michigan,” Martin said. “She’s our go-to player. As a sophomore, she can really put the ball down.”

Portage Central over Niles, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23

At Niles

Kills: Miranda Baker (N) 6, Sarah Heckman (P) 11, Elle Humphries (P) 8.

Blocks: Kylee Myer (N) 2, Lashonda Greene (N) 2, Jenna VanZoeren (P) 3, Heckman (P) 2, Humphries (P) 2.

Aces: Brea Haines (N) 1, Miranda Baker (N) 1, Ashley Love (N) 1.

Digs: Baker (N) 6, Haines (N) 5, Michelle Briand (N) 3, Reinie Thomas (P) 11, Heckman (P) 5, Bridget Borre (P) 3.

Records: Niles 7-5 overall (0-1 Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference).

Freshman score: Portage Central over Niles, 25-16, 26-24.

Records: Niles 7-2.