By By ERIKA PICKLES and SCOTT NOVAK / Vigilant/Argus
EDWARDSBURG - Strong serving added up to a non-conference victory Monday night for visiting Dowagiac.
Once the Chieftains got their serving game in order against host Edwardsburg on Monday, Dowagiac rolled to a 25-22, 25-22 and 25-16 victory.
Serving and solid passing allowed Dowagiac to run its offense more effectively and it also allowed the Chieftains to use their height advantage against the Lady Eddies.
After a pair of back-and-forth games to start the match, Dowagiac totally dominated Edwardsburg in the third and final game.
Edwardsburg coach Mark Nowak noted his team's strengths are usually passing and defense.
Dowagiac was led statistically by senior Brittney Reist, who returned to the line up after missing last week's game due to the Miss Dowagiac contest. Reist finished with 12 kills, seven digs and six aces.
Kim Luthringer added seven digs, five kills and two blocks.
Brittany Bruens had 14 assists for Dowagiac.
Shelley Roberts and Ashley Turner each had three kills for the Lady Eddies. Sarah Lange had six assists and Nikki Focht an ace.
Nowak said that his team has ability to be much better than their 4-12 record would indicate.
Brandywine…3
Edwardsburg…2
Brandywine defeated visiting Edwardsburg in five games Thursday night.
The game was a make-up for the canceled game on Wednesday due to school closings.
The Bobcats, who are now 4-0 in conference, barely made it past the Eddies. They won the first, third and fifth games 25-22, 25-23 and 16-14, and fell 18-25, 21-25 in the second and fourth games.
Robert led Edwardsburg with 13 kills. Sam Fritsche added eight kills and Turner five.
Lange led the Lady Eddies with 30 assists.Chrissy Breisch had a team-high six aces. Turner finished with four aces.
Nikki Cooper, this week's athlete of the week, led the way for the Bobcats with 24 digs and 17 kills. Emily Whitney had 36 assists and 14 digs.
Katie Touhy added nine kills and two aces.
Kelly Zache had 12 digs and Kendra had nine kills for the Bobcats.
The Lady Eddies have the weekend off before returning to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 2 against visiting River Valley.