The Niles freshmen volleyball team won its home quad by beating Edwardsburg, Three Rivers and Cassopolis Aug. 26.

Niles defeated Edwardsburg 25-18, 23-25 and 15-10, Three Rivers 25-17 and 25-11 and Cassopolis by a forfeit.

“This was a great night for my team,” Niles coach Samantha Zimmerman said. “They really pulled together and played as a team. I challenged the girls to work on their attitudes tonight and they did a great job.

“During the Edwardsburg game, they got into a little bit of a rut, but I was very impressed with their overall attitudes as a team as they fought back in the second game to get within two. That momentum and positive attitude carried over to the third game to get us the win. With that momentum and mindset, there was no stopping them. I even mixed up the line-up and put girls where they weren’t used to playing and they really showed me their determination and heart.”

 

Niles Quad

Individual statistics 

Points/Aces

Tristyn Brooks 23 points, 13 aces

McKenzie Pulliam 18 points, 3 aces

Addison Davies 12 points, 4 aces

 

Kills

Pulliam 11

Jora Barnes 9

Davies 8

Bereniz Sotelo 5

 

Blocks

Barnes 4

Davies 4

Sotelo 3

 

Assists

Pulliam 20

Sotelo 8

 

Digs

Sadie Fountain 18

Brooks 18

Sotelo 8

Barnes 7

 

SMAC Mini

The Niles freshmen volleyball team competed in the SMAC mini Wednesday night at Portage Central and went 1-1-1.

The Vikings swept Loy Norrix 25-22 and 25-19, lost to Mattawan, 25-17 and 25-13 and split with Kalamazoo Central, 12-25 and 25-22.

Niles is 6-2-1.

“It was a night of ups and downs for our team,” Niles coach Samantha Zimmerman said. “We started great, really coming together and playing as a team to sweep Loy Norrix, who beat us last Friday at Bridgman. Against Mattawan though, we really got down and ended up beating ourselves. Mattawan is a great serving team and we fell apart from the beginning.

“That carried over with us to our final game of the night against Kalamazoo Central, really bringing our team down. Something clicked in the second game though; our girls came together and played great ball, really getting back to their fundamentals and pulling it together. I’m proud of the girl’s efforts, especially after not having much practice. I am excited to get back in the gym tomorrow and work the kinks out.”

 

SMAC Mini

Scoring/Aces

Addison Davies 15 points, 5 aces

McKenzie Pulliam 14 points, 5 aces

Tristyn Brooks 13 points, 7 aces

 

Kills

Brooks 13

Jora Barnes 8

Davies 7

 

Blocks

Davies 2

MacKenzie Bishop 2

Barnes 1

 

Assists

Pulliam: 16

Bereniz Sotelo: 4

 

Digs

Brooks: 26

Pulliam: 19

Sadie Fountain: 16