BUCHANAN — On a team known for its powerful front row and its hitting prowess, it was the serving of Lashonda Greene and Kierra Fillwock that helped visiting Niles sweep Buchanan 3-0 Thursday.

Trailing the Bucks 14-7 in the second set, Greene served up eight straight winners, including a pair of aces as the Vikings tied up the match at 14-14.

During Greene’s run, Niles also got kills from Fillwock and Miranda Baker and a big block from Baker and Cortney Shirrell.

From there the Vikings seized control of the match and went on to defeat Buchanan 26-24, 25-16 and 25-15.

In finishing off the Bucks in the second set, Niles hitters Baker and Ashley Love combined for four kills. Fillwock chipped in with a trio of aces to aid in the win.

Buchanan (10-17) was no match for the Vikings in the third and final set.

After taking a 3-0 lead, Niles caught the Bucks at 5-5 and after the two teams were deadlocked again at 7-7, a service error by Buchanan started a run that allowed Niles to slowly pull away.

The Vikings (22-7-2) outscored the Bucks 18-8 the rest of the way using a combination of solid serving and aggressive net play.

“Baker and Love are the strength of our offense,” Niles coach Jenny Nate said. “They are our go-to clutch players. Cortney Shirrell does a great job getting them the ball. I love the fact that it’s a total team effort. We are really shifting girls like Jaz (Jazmin Brann) at the net tonight. Maggie Feifar in the back row. We’ve got great leaders. When we can pass that ball and run our offense, there’s really not a lot that can be done on the other side if we’re on.”

The Bucks put up their best fight in the opening set before falling to the Vikings 26-24.

But despite the loss, Buchanan coach Lisa Holak liked what she saw out of her team.

“I feel like they have a very good setter, a very good libero and some obviously strong hitters, so it began to wear on us as the night went on,” she said. “I was really happy with the way they played. Much better than Tuesday night. We transferred everthing we worked on in practice yesterday. To me this was a step forward because we were competing with a team that was ranked in the state. They didn’t back down and that’s a victory for us right now.”

Baker finished the night with 13 kills and three blocks, while Love had 12 kills, four digs and a block. Fillwock added six kills, 13 points and four aces.

Maggie Hoff led the Vikings in digs with 10 and also had 12 points, while Shirrell finishing with 28 assists, four digs and two blocks. Green finished with 10 points, three aces and two blocks.

Racel Bonek paced the Bucks with 11 kills, 11 digs and four blocks. Alexis Meahl had five kills and nine digs. Baylie Lee also had nine digs. Pachia Benson had 28 assists on the night.