By By STEVE MORRISON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Niles Vikings volleyball team visited neighboring rival Brandywine for an area showdown Monday evening.
When they left, the Vikes had accomplished their goal, winning 3-0, but not without a testy challenge from the Bobcats.
"Stephanie Stoops was serving bullets all night," commented Niles coach Linda Goodrich.
Stoops was all over the floor with acrobatic, point-saving digs that held the home team off as Niles completed their trifecta with practically matching results of 25-20, 25-21, and 25-20.
"We had great double coverage," added Goodrich. "No one is better at it than Karly Kennedy."
At the outset of the match, some tough defense by Brandywine's Kendra Zache and Jenna Harris helped to turn an early deficit into a 6-5 home advantage, following a volley between the two teams that lasted for nearly a minute. Some ranging digs by Kaylynn Stephenson and Stoops, and four knuckle-ball serves by Maddy Peterek put Niles back on top for good at 13-7.
After the Bobcats scored three consecutive times to move within to a 13-10 gap, a kill by Katie Bourbonnais and line-drive serves by Kennedy began a succession of five straight tallies for Niles, putting them ahead 18-10. Kills by Lauren Leonard, Kendra Zache, and a beautiful dig by Emily Low put pressure on the visitors. Finally Niles wrapped up the first game 25-20 on a leaping smash by Kennedy.
In game two, Brandywine sprinted out to a 6-2 lead, including a nifty tip by Zache, mesmerizing the opponents. Some excellent work in the front-court by Kennedy and Bourbonnais, along with crafty tips by Peterek allowed Niles to climb back into the game at 9-9. Brittney Wolverton emerged to add some much-needed offense with spike after spike to accelerate the Vikings in their second conquest of the night, 25-21.
Some good work by Leonard with a block and a tip by Harris were wasted as Brandywine made a few costly poor serves.
The 'Cats began the third segment with a kill by Leonard to charge ahead 1-0. Niles' Rebecca Lewis chipped in with a stunning kill and a shot that barely rode over he net to thrust the Vikings back to a 5-2 advantage.
Brandywine fought all the way, taking a 16-15 lead with great defense from Low and a fine tip by Katie Smallwood spurring the resurgence. Bourbonnais emerged during the last 10 scores by Niles with a kill, a block, and a series of rope-like serves to push her team to polish off the game 25-20.
"It was close," agreed Brandywine coach Sara Eaton. " It was slightly disappointing to lose three such close games to our biggest rival, Niles. We started off the night with a lot of enthusiasm. Our three seniors were excited to play (in their last home game). A couple of missed serves in close games really hurt us. Conference begins next week. I'm really looking forward to it."
Niles Statistics
Kills
Maddy Peterek 7
Brittney Wolverton 7
Katie Bourbonnais 5
Karly Kennedy 4
Kaylynn Stephenson4
Stephanie Stoops 17
Samantha Brawley 12
Kaylynn Stephenson 7
Demi Schrader 7
Assists
Schrader 16
Brawley 11
Blocks
Bourbonnais 2
Wolverton 2
Brandywine Statistics
Kills
Kendra Zache 7
Katie Smallwood 3
Laura Leonard 3
Assists
Emily Low 68
Blocks
Smallwood 2
Zache 2