By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
Slick roads and a winter storm warning weren't enough to keep players and fans home Wednesday night as the Niles volleyball team hosted Benton Harbor. The Vikings won all three games against the Tigers, improving their record to 7-7-3, but it didn't come easy.
In the first two matches, Niles' offense and defense was sluggish. Though they won both matches 25-17, head coach Jamie Foster knows where they need improvement.
Benton Harbor took the lead early in the first game, going ahead by 7 points at one time. Niles made some minor mistakes, but they came back and take the lead giving them the 25-17 victory in the first game.
The Vikings beat the Tigers in the second match 25-17. Niles again made some mistakes, but were able to hang on to the lead all of the second match. Benton Harbor made an attempt to comeback getting two kills in a row and a couple of aces, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap.
In the third match Niles looked more alive and again defeated Benton Harbor 25-12. They didn't make as many mistakes and were able to get some better plays.
Amber Peters led the Vikings with 17 assists and nine digs. Karly Kennedy also had nine digs, and Claire Molnar had 10 digs for Niles. Melissa Oleson had eight kills. Kaylee Bonner had eight aces, and Dagmar Hoffman had six aces for the Vikings.
Niles travels to Buchanan Monday night for a cross town rival match up. "Buchanan has a good squad," Foster said. "The game will be much quicker and the girls need to be ready for that."