The Niles volleyball team broke its tie with for second place in the SMAC West Division with St. Joseph Wednesday night.

The Vikings defeated the Bears in five sets, 23-25, 25-13, 17-25, 25-9 and 15-8.

“My team has traveled a lot this season, so they get very pumped up when we play at home, especially when they knew we needed the win to break the tie and hold on to second place in the conference,” Niles coach Jenny Nate said. “The first set we were a little hesitant and we needed to move our feet, communicate better, relax and play hard as a team. So after dropping that one 25-23, we knew we had to come out stronger and work better together the second set.

“After we refocused, we set the pace for the set and took it 25-13. The next game was another roller coaster and we lost it 17-25. The fourth set we decided in the huddle that it was time to control the match and finish this for a win at home.

“I was very proud of their ability to regroup again and take that set 25-9 and finish them in the fifth set 15-8. This was a great win for us. We were in a three way tie for second going into tonight with St. Joe and Lakeshore. My team will be hitting it hard at practice for the next week and is excited and prepared to take on Lakeshore next Wednesday for senior night on our home court.”

 

Niles d. St. Joseph 3-2

Set scores

23-25 25-13, 17-25, 25-9, 15-8

 

Niles statistics

Leading scorers

Kelsey Barton 12 points, 4 aces

Courtney Nixon 11 points

Megan Kohler 10 points, 2 aces

Holly Walker 9 points, 1 ace

Bre Love 8 points, 3 aces

Bella Rasler 4 points

 

Kills

Rasler 15

Lexi Smith 9

Jazmin Brann 7

Barton 5

Kohler 3

 

Blocks

Brann 6

Kohler 5

Barton 4

Rasler 3

 

Digs

Love 22

Rasler 9

Walker 8

Barton 6

Nixon 5

 

Assists

Barton 40