By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Monday evening in the Viking gymnasium started with a big recognition of Niles' lone senior on the varsity volleyball squad.
A table was set up in the hallway by the entrance of the gym, honoring Mehgen Flynn on Senior Night. Flynn was then introduced, with her parents, in front of a crowd in attendance to watch the Vikings battle the Brandywine Bobcats.
By the end of the evening, Niles had much to celebrate as it took the non-conference win in three games, 25-19, 25-17, 25-21.
"We had six hitters with 10 attack attempts or more. With such a balanced attack, I felt that we really kept Brandywine out of their system," Lady Vikes head coach Linda Goodrich said.
Niles had no problem jumping to an early lead in the first game, but the Bobcats made a great attempt to comeback, tying the game at 15. The tie was short lived, though, as Niles hopped right back ahead and went on to claim the victory.
The Vikings stayed ahead the entire second game, taking an early 8-2 lead and never letting the Bobcats catch up.
In the third, it was Brandywine who who opened the game with the lead, but five straight points by Niles put the Vikes ahead once again. The Bobcats could only come within two points of the lead before Niles put the game away.
"Mehgen Flynn continued with dominant hitting and net play on Senior Night," Goodrich said.Flynn ended the night with six kills, two aces and three assists.
Goodrich was also pleased with the performance of a few other players, including Maddy Peterek.
"Maddy Peterek did an excellent job of leading the offense tonight. She really worked hard at keeping all the hitters involved in offense," Goodrich said.
Peterek had 14 assists and four digs on the night.
Other stat leaders were Kaylynn Stephenson with eight kills and four digs, Demi Schrader with three assists and four digs, Samantha Brawley had seven digs and Katie Bourbonnais had four kills.
"The strongest part of our program is that we have a true 'team' concept, This is an amazing team to coach in that the girls have great chemistry and work ethic," Goodrich added.
The Vikings will host the SMAC Crossover game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will head for St. Joe on Saturday for the Bears' Invitational.