KALAMAZOO – The Niles volleyball team was defeated by host Kalamazoo Central 3-2 in a thrilling Big 16 Conference match Wednesday.

The Maroon Giants defeated the Vikings 25-18, 25-22, 11-25, 17-25 and 15-13.

“We battled ourselves tonight,” Niles coach Jenny Nate said. “During the first two sets, we let them control the game and we weren’t playing as aggressively as we usually do. In the third match, we came out ready to play and win and dominated the next two games.

“In the final match, we played hard, but made a few mistakes and couldn’t close it. Our inconsistent play was our enemy tonight. We are going to have to dig deep at practice and prepare to come back out swinging, focused and aggressive to get back on track for the Coloma Invitational (Saturday) and a home match next Wednesday against St. Joseph.”

 

Kalamazoo Central d. Niles 3-2

Niles statistics

Points Scored

Kierra Fillwock 21 points, 1 ace

Cortney Shirrell 14 points

 

Digs

Ashley Love 3

Maggie Hoff 2

Miranda Baker 1

Blocks

Baker 6

Fillwock 3

Lashonda Greene 3

Ashley Love 2

Kelsey Barton 1

Kills

Baker 24

Love 20

Shirrell 5

Greene 4

Barton 4

Fillwock 4

 

Assists

Shirrell 51