By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Four straight aces by junior middle hitter Katie Tuohy set the tone for what would be an easy Lakeland Conference victory by the Brandywine varsity volleyball team Wednesday night.
Tuohy's four aces gave Brandywine a 4-2 lead in the first game and started a 15-0 run to end the first game with a 15-2 victory. Brandywine, now 13-9-6 overall and 3-1 in league play, went on to earn decisions of 15-3 and 15-10 to sweep the Rangers.
Tuohy finished with team-high honors in aces and blocks with five and three, respectively, but was one of few regular starters who had anything close to a normal stat line.
With that in mind, the bench was cleared during the second game with the starters taking on the role of reserves.
Emily Whitney, a junior who earned All-State honors as a freshman and as a sophomore, didn't play at all after the first game.
Nikki Cooper, a starter, led the hitting attack with 10 kills. She also had a team-high eight digs. Tuohy had seven kills while Nikki Martyniuk added five kills. Whitney, Kelli Zache and Kara Allen each had four kills.
Kayla Asmus, normally a defensive specialist, took on setting duties in the third game and came up with three kills, three digs, two aces and 11 assists.
Nicki McGowen had six digs and three aces while Allen had four digs. Bridget Mitchell came up with one ace and 14 assists.
Brandywine returns to action Wednesday at Edwardsburg for another Lakeland Conference match.