By By TOM NYHUIS / Niles Daily Star
BUCHANAN – Buchanan volleyball coach Lisa Holok knew that it was a matter of her team playing with confidence that would lead to the Lady Bucks finishing off the close matches.
Saturday at their own Buck Classic, Buchanan played the best they have all year and captured their own tournament championship.
"They (Buchanan) played amazingly well today," Holok said of her teams performance. "We had a hard loss Wednesday against Coloma and we have been pushing all year to play together. I could see all day the belief in their eyes finally for the first time. Even when they were down I didn't feel like they were down. It was like a whole new team today."
Buchanan defeated River Valley in the championship match of the tournament, 2-1 with Buchanan taking the early advantage winning the first game 21-14.
The Mustangs bounced back to take the second game, 21-18. In the second game, it was a comeback by Buchanan, who was down 12-17 at on point of the game, putting the pressure back on the Mustangs coming back to trail 17-18.
"Even at that point I didn't feel we were out of it," Holok said. "It's been a long time coming."
The Mustangs held on and closed out the game to force the outcome of the tournament to be decided by a third game. Buchanan finished off the Mustangs with a 15-12 victory in the final game of the day.
In the third game, River Valley tied the contest at five and took a 1-point lead, 6-5 before the Lady Bucks knotted the game at six on a kill by Jayme O'Bryant. That was followed by a kill by Mattie Arndt and another kill by O'Bryant which gave the Bucks a 8-6 lead one the Mustangs could not close in on. Buchanan extended the lead to 12-8.
The Mustangs had one final run at the Bucks as they battled back to within one 13-12 but fell short allowing Buchanan to begin their celebration of a good day on the volleyball court.
"We are starting to trust each others positions now and trust each other and it's making a big difference," Holok said.
Pool Play
Buchanan vs Brandywine 21-18, 19-21 (won by points)
Buchanan vs Cass 21-14, 21-13
Buchanan vs Benton Harbor 21-10, 21-11
Quarterfinals
Buchanan vs New Buffalo 21-15, 21-4
Semifinals
Buchanan vs Berrien Springs 21-14, 21-17
Finals
Buchanan vs River Valley 21-14, 18-21, 15-12
Buck Classic All Tournament Team Members- Melissa Cooper Brandywine, Becky File
Cass, Katy Harris Eau Claire, Heather Totzke River Valley, Jodi Grandholm River Valley, Stephanie Emhoff Berrien Springs, and Courtney Miller Buchanan.
Tournament stats:
Courtney Miller 38 kills, 55 digs, 3 aces, 5 blocks
Katie Backus 3 kills, 21 digs, 4 blocks
Holly Lucas 31 digs
Emily Ross 9 aces, 15 kills, 114 assists, 5 blocks, 27 digs
Jayme O'Bryant 6 aces, 22 kills, 57 digs
Anna Callahan 16 kills, 10 blocks
Lindsey Borr 5 aces, 68 digs
Mattie Arndt 5 aces, 30 kills, 20 blocks, 15 digs
Buchanan record 20-13
Buchanan Season Leader Board stats:
Courtney Miller 210 kills, 269 digs
Lindsey Borr 417 digs
Jayme O'Bryant 249 digs
Emily Ross 69 aces, 639 assists
Holly Lucas 220 digs
Mattie Arndt 65 blocks
Anna Callahan 64 blocks