By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- What is annually one of the most intense volleyball matchups of the season turned out to be a dud Wednesday night as Brandywine cruised past arch rival Buchanan 15-4, 15-10, 14-16, 15-4 in Lakeland Conference action.
The Bucks, which are 15-15-6 overall and 4-3 in league play, showed some signs of life in the third game but that energy was quickly stifled by the Bobcats (17-12-9, 4-2) in the decisive fourth game.
Early on the Bobcats' hitting attack controlled the momentum, with Katie Tuohy, Emily Whitney, Kelli Zache and Nikki Cooper having their way with Buchanan's defense.
Whitney and Cooper led Brandywine with 14 kills apiece while Tuohy added 13 and Zache had 10. Nikki Martyniuk also had five kills.
Whitney also contributed 14 assists, nine digs and two aces to the Brandywine effort.
Gary Whitney was pleased with his team's performance, but would have liked to spread the offense around more, especially in the final game.
Ashlee Layher led Buchanan with 14 kills, 12 digs and two aces despite a sore back. Ali Bender added 13 digs and 38 assists while Heather Lentz had 12 digs and Holly Tibbs helped out with eight kills. Michelle Johnson was Buchanan's leading blocker with four.
Bridgett Mitchell had 36 assists for Brandywine and earned praise from her coach.
Brandywine returns to action Wednesday night at Edwardsburg while Buchanan travels to Centreville the same night.