By By SCOTT NOVAK / Vigilant/Argus
The Cassopolis varsity volleyball team reached the semifinals of the Lake Michigan Catholic Invitational on Saturday before being eliminated by Bangor.
The Lady Rangers captured their pool to advance to the championship round of the tournament.
Cassopolis split with South Haven in pool play (17-25, 25-14) and Bangor (16-25, 25-13) before defeating Lake Michigan Catholic (25-15, 25-23).
In the semifinals, Bangor defeated the Lady Rangers 25-17 and 25-19.
Nikitas Nelson led the Lady Rangers with 12 kills and 20 digs, while Dee Dee Hawkins had 11 kills and seven blocks.
Cassopolis also got eight kills and five blocks from Becky File. Kyra Luckey finished with five kills and 16 digs. Molly Vite added four kills.
Sara McIntyre contributed 26 setting assists to the Lady Rangers' totals. Symone Pompey had 23 digs, while Branna Wyant had nine digs. Nicole Green lead the team in serving with 22 points and five aces.
Eau Claire…3
Cassopolis…1
Coming off their second place finish at the LMC tournament on Saturday, the Lady Rangers were a bit flat against visiting Eau Claire Monday night.
As a result, Cassopolis was defeated in four games, 17-25, 25-20, 14-25 and 19-25.
Vite had five kills and 14 digs to pace the Lady Rangers statistically.
Cassopolis also got 10 service points from Wyant, six blocks from Hawkins, three blocks from File and four kills from Nelson.
Green finished with nine points and an ace, while Kara Simmons added eight service points and two kills.
Luckey contributed four kills to the Lady Rangers' totals, while McIntyre had seven setting assists and Kayla Green six assists.
The Lady Rangers returned to action Wednesday night when they hosted Buchanan in a Lakeland Conference match.
Berrien Springs…3
Cassopolis…0
Against Berrien Springs on Dec. 14 the Lady Rangers were defeated in Lakeland Conference play, 25-11, 28-18 and 25-8.
Green had nine service points for Cassopolis which also got three attacks each from Luckey and Nelson.
File and Pompey led the team in blocks and defensively.
New Buffalo…1
Cassopolis…3
The Lady Rangers defeated New Buffalo in four games in a non-conference match on Dec. 12.
Green led the team in serving with 23 points.
File and Nelson led the team in attacks, while Vite and Pompey played well defensively. McIntyre was the team leader in assists.
Cass Round Robin
Cassopolis opened its season with a five-team tournament that featured Eau Claire, Howardsville-Christian, River Valley and Watervliet.
The Rangers were swept by Watervliet, swept Howardsville-Christian and split with both Eau Claire and River Valley to come out of pool play in fourth place.
The Lady Rangers defeated Howardsville-Christian in the quarter finals, 22-25, 25-17 and 15-10.
The Lady Rangers were defeated by River Valley in the semifinals to take third place overall, 25-19 and 25-16.
No individual statistics were kept according to first-year Cassopolis coach Ericka Boulanger.