By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
Brandywine volleyball team will live and die by the pass this season. That was clear Wednesday night against Bridgman.
When the Bobcats were passing well, they looked nearly unstoppable. When the passes weren't going to the right spots, however, they stopped themselves.
But after a tight first game, Brandywine took games two and four easily to get a 3-1 victory (25-23, 25-12, 19-25, 25-19) in its home and conference opener.
The Bobcats came out sluggish, falling behind early in game one. Down by as many as four points, Brandywine put together a seven-point run midway through the set to take control.
The run was fueled by the serving of Nikki Cooper. She had three aces in the stretch that put the Bobcats up 19-16.
In the second set, Bridgman stayed close until Brandywine put together another big run, guided by good serving. This time it was Katie Tuohy who led the charge.
Tuohy got one of her 10 kills to give the Bobcats the serve. She then helped them reel off eight straight points that included five aces. Tuohy served four straight aces at one point.
Brandywine again struggled to pass well in losing the third game, 19-25. The Bobcats got ahead early in the fourth game, though, and held on to win the set and the match.
One of the reasons Brandywine was inconsistent with its player is because Whitney said he is trying to bring along two young players - freshman Kendra Zache and Brooke Allen.
So far, though its early in the year, Whitney said he's liked the progress the two have made.
Nikki Martyniuk was second to Tuohy in kills with 10. Zache and Cooper each had six. Cooper also added 20 digs to lead the Bobcats.
Setter Emily Whitney dished out 39 assists. The Bobcats, along with Niles and Buchanan, will be in action at the Lakeshore Invitational Saturday.