By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – After years of being stomped by St. Joseph, the Niles varsity volleyball team handed the Bears back a loss – finally!
The Vikings defeated St. Joseph in three games, 25-18, 25-18 and 25-22, for a SMAC West Division victory.
"This was an incredible win for us. St. Joseph is a strong team defensively and they are excellent controlling the ball," Niles head coach Linda Goodrich said.
Goodrich stated that her team was completely focused on defeanse for the past week, and the hard work paid off during the game.
"Our core passing unit consists of Karly Kennedy, Samantha Brawley, Kaylynn Stephenson and Nellie Coquillard their combined defense is what gave us a win against a team we had not been able to get past this year. Our front row gave us a solid block that made defense even more effective. Our coverage was the best of the year so far," Goodrich said.
Stat leaders for the Vikings were Kaylynn Stephenson with 12 kills and 12 digs. Mehgen Flynn contributed seven kills on the night and Karly Kennedy and Katie Bourbonnais each added five kills.
"The addition of Mehgen Flynn to our line up is really paying off. Even though statistically she had no blocks because they didn't end the play, she was a force at the net against one of the top hitters in Southwest Michigan and saw alot of touches which in turn gave our defense advantage," Goodrich said.
Nellie Coquillard had 21 digs for the Vikings, Samantha Brawley had 16 and Maddy Peterek added 15 digs and 18 assists. Demi Schrader also contributed two assists.
All three games stayed fairly close, however, the Lady Vikes were able to stay ahead almost the entire night.
The Lady Vikings will compete at the Portage Northen Invite on Saturday.
NILES defeats St Joseph, 25-18, 25-18, 25-22
Niles Stat Leaders
Kills
Kaylynn Stephenson 12
Mehgen Flynn 7
Karly Kennedy 5
Katie Bourbonnais 5
Nellie Coquillard 21
Samantha Brawley 16
Maddy Peterek 15
Kaylynn Stephenson 12
Assists
Maddy Peterek 18
Demi Schrader 2