By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Dowagiac's varsity volleyball team got things rolling Wednesday evening as the Lady Chieftains took a 27-25 first game win over host Niles.
But that was the only win Dowagiac would get for the rest of the night as the Vikings went on to win the next three games 25-17, 25-15 and 26-16.
Niles, which improves to 8-4-1 on the season, looked much improved from its game against Buchanan when the Vikes had communication and defensive problems.
Head coach Jami Foster was very pleased with her teams performance Wednesday night.
On the other side of the court, Dowagiac's head coach Carl Greulich was dissatisfied with his teams effort.
So dissatisfied, that he had to remove both of his setters, Jill Wiesemes and Jolynn Hawkins.
After the first game, the Chiefs posted no real threat to Niles.
In the second game, Dowagiac came within three points of a lead, 16-13, but the Vikings were able to break free on some smart offensive plays.
In the third game, the Chieftains fell into a hole early and were never able to get out, falling behind by as many as 11 points, 24-13, at one point.
Again, the outcome came down to tough offense on Niles' side and defensive errors on Dowagiac's.
Early in the fourth game, it was the Chiefs who took an early lead, going up 3-0. But the Lady Vikes were quick to comeback with a strong net performance.
Katie Bourbonnais and Kaylynn Stephenson each connected for one kill each, while Kylee Mudd added two, giving Niles a 5-3 lead.
Dowagiac trailed for the rest of the final game.
Mudd, who Foster said had one of the best games of her career, led Niles with seven kills. She also added 12 points and eight digs.
Claire Molnar added five kills and five digs and Mehgan Flynn had four kills and two aces.
Stephenson had three kills, six points and 10 digs for the Vikes, Maddy Peterek had 23 assists, eight points and five digs and Sam Brawley had 15 digs and four points.
For Dowagiac, Kim Luthringer had seven kills and 13 digs and Jill Billingham had five kills.
Lindsay Tyler added two aces, Hawkins had 21 assists and Wiesemes had 25 assists.
Sarah Shelton had five blocks, while Brittany Bruens added two and Amy Wood had seven digs.
Niles is back in action on Saturday when it travels to the St. Joseph Invitational. Foster stated that her team is going to have a very tough day.
Dowagiac will not hit the floor again until next Wednesday when it travels to Lakeshore for another Big 16 game.