The Niles volleyball team evened its Big 16 Conference West Division record at 3-3 Wednesday evening with a dominating 3-0 (25-11, 25-8, 25-14) win over the visiting Benton Harbor Tigers.

The one-sided affair saw the Tigers lead only once after they scored the first two points of the third set.

Though the match itself was never truly competitive, Niles head coach Jenny Nate was impressed with what she saw from her team less than 24-hours after a long night at Otsego

“I am actually very pleased with them. Our goal for today was to stay consistent and stay focused on what we’re doing on our side of the net and I think we did that,” she said.

Niles’ efforts were led by seniors Ashley Love who had six kills and four digs and Cortney Shirrell who finished with 19 assists.

The Vikings (17-8-1) were hoping to improve on both their mental game and fundamentals heading into next week’s matches against Kalamazoo Central and Hackett Catholic Central.

“This is the turning point. We’ve played the conference powerhouses already and I’m glad that we did, because now we know what we have to work for,” Nate said. “We’re just focusing on taking it one game at a time and playing solidly, so that when we face the powerhouses again, we’ll be ready for them.”

Niles returns to action next Wednesday when it travels to Kalamazoo to take on the Maroon Giants at 7 p.m.

 

Niles d. Benton Harbor 3-0

Niles statistics

Kills: Miranada Baker 7

Ashley Love 6

Assists: Cortney Shirrell 19

Digs: Ashley love 4

Aces: Kelsey Barton 4