DOWAGIAC — A pair of Emilys helped Edwardsburg eliminate Lakeshore from the Class B Volleyball District Tuesday night at Dowagiac High School.

Senior Emily Kozinski k’oed 15 kills and Emily Getz accumulated 38 assists to lead their team to a 18-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-17 victory.

Lakeshore looked like the team to beat in the beginning as Edwardsburg coach Sarah Benjamin needed to call timeouts with an 11-8 deficit in the first two games.

Junior Makenzi Harrison and senior Jillian Buckleitner each had a nice string of serves for the Lady Lancers late in the first set triumph.

“The first game our passing was good and then it went downhill after that,” said Lakeshore coach Melissa Church. “After the first game, they started rolling to the middle more and we didn’t react very well as we gave them too many easy opportunities to run their offense.”

Changing the momentum and a 17-14 deficit in the second game for Edwardsburg were the serves of sophomore Andrea LaPlace with seven straight points with help from classmate Nikki Brady (also with 15 kills) and Kozinski.

“Things were sporadic in the first game, because Lakeshore played a quicker game than what we are used to with scrappy players,” mentioned Benjamin, who graduated from Lakeshore. “We need to pass, hit and set like we are supposed to play.”

Getz started the third game with three serving points and Kozinski followed with a trifecta to make the score 10-5 and the valiant Lancer girls could not comeback from behind. Getz finished the 23-21 score with a pair of nice serves for the victors.

“This is still volleyball season and basketball will come soon enough as coach (Benjamin) has taught me everything about volleyball and glad she did,” noted Kozinski. “Being a senior, we would like to win districts because we’ve been so close the last three years”

Lakeshore jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage in the final game, but Edwardsburg freshman Madison Hatkevich quickly erased the lead with four serving points and 8-6 would be the closest the contest would be to the end.

Benjamin was glad to beat her alma mater and heaped praise for Kozinski before her career finishes by saying, “Emily has been a starter on varsity for four years and is a great senior leader, who is an asset on the court no matter how she is playing and knows when and how to step it up.”

Finishing her campaign with a stellar effort for Lakeshore was Christina Welch with 12 kills, 15 assists, two blocks and 14 digs with classmates Lauren Chorny (10 kills, 3 blocks, 4 digs) and Sam Coskie (18 digs) also lancering positive results.

“I am proud of the effort we gave, because they came out and competed against a good team,” concluded Church. “We were inconsistent all year because of our youth playing four sophomores and two freshmen quite a bit.”

St. Joseph will be the opposition for Edwardsburg in the district championship tonight at Dowagiac as the Lady Bears won convincingly (25-13, 27-25, 25-15) over Berrien Springs.

“St. Joe is a good competitive team that we lost to earlier this year, but if we stick together more than we did earlier against them we could win,” explained Kozinski, who at the moment is planning on playing collegiate basketball at nearby Holy Cross. “I would like to continue with volleyball in college if the opportunity presents itself.”

Edwardsburg statistics

Emily Kozinski 15 kills, 18 digs, 1 ace

Ally McIntee 24 digs, 4 aces

Andrea LaPlace 5 kills, 2 blocks 3 aces

Paige Mueller 26 digs, 1 ace

Emily Getz 4 kills, 16 digs, 38 assists

Nikki Brady 17 kills

Edwardsburg…3

Buchanan…1

A 29-27 thriller in the first set may have taken the steam out of the Buchanan sails against Edwardsburg.

The Eddies went on to defeat the Bucks 29-27, 25-19, 12-25 and 25-15.

The Bucks (18-19-5) had to rally from a 22-17 deficit to tie the match at 24 on a kill by Audrey Oake.

From there it was just a war.

Edwardsburg and Buchanan traded leads back and forth until a Rachel Vite kill gave the Eddies a 28-27 lead which they were able to hold on to.

The second set told the tale of the match as Edwardsburg, behind the play of Vite and Emily Kozinski, dominated the Bucks. The Eddies built a 22-15 lead and cruised to the 25-19 win.

It was all Buchanan in the third set as the Bucks rolled to a 25-12 win.

Oake helped Buchanan build a 13-7 lead which it never relinquished.

Edwardsburg coach Sarah Benjamin rallied the troops for the fourth and deciding set.

After talking to her squad about focus, the Eddies came out and opened up a quick 14-4 advantage and then headed home with the victory and a spot in the semifinals.

Ally McIntee got things started with three straight service winners to get Edwardsburg off to a good start.

Kozinski helped seal the deal with a pair of kills to extend the lead to 22-14.

“We were down a little bit to start game two,” Buchanan coach Lisa Holok said. “We just allowed too many points to be scored at different stretches of the game and for us to have to battle back at different points was mentally frustrating for us.”

Edwardsburg statistics

Emily Kozinski 18 kills, 20 digs, 2 blocks

Ally McIntee 20 digs, 4 aces

Emily Getz 41 assists, 1 ace, 19 digs, 4 blocks

Bronnie Tafunai 25 digs, 5 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace

Rachel Vite 3 blocks, 6 kills, 3 digs

Paige Mueller 32 digs

Class C Districts

WHITE PIGEON — The Cassopolis volleyball team’s season came to an end Monday night as the Rangers were defeated by Constantine.

Cassopolis fell to the Falcons in the Class C District Tournament at White Pigeon High School, 25-10, 25-11 and 25-13.

“Even though the scores don’t show our effort, the ladies did a great job,” Cass coach Brooke Brawley said. “We overcame multiple injuries and worked hard tonight. I am proud of all of the girls’ effort and willingness to believe in each other.”

Cassopolis statistics

Savannah Sullivan 1 ace

Reese Ellison 6 kills, 1 ace

Hannah Duebner 4 kills

Devan Hillyer 3 kills

Lakeland Conference Tournament

For the first time since 1996, the Brandywine volleyball team can call itself Lakeland Conference champions.

The Bobcats went undefeated in the regular season and then battled their way through the league tournament at Edwardsburg High School on Saturday to claim the outright championship.

“It feels awesome,” Brandywine coach Nikki Bush said. “The girls really worked hard for it.”

The Bobcats had to win several close matches to come out of the tournament without a loss. Brandywine hadn’t played a match in over a week, which may have led to a slow start according to Bush.

“We had a long week of practice because we didn’t have any matches or scrimmages,” she said. “So we hadn’t really played since last Tuesday (Oct. 19) so getting back into the swing of things took us a little bit.”

As regular season champions, Brandywine received an opening round bye.

Edwardsburg advanced to the semifinals with a 25-17, 25-17 and 25-15 win over Buchanan to earn the right to take on the Bobcats.

In the semifinals, Brandywine pulled out a five-set thriller. The Bobcats edged the Eddies 25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 17-25 and 15-7. Edwardsburg led 3-0 in the fifth and final set before Brandywine rallied for the victory.

Berrien Springs advanced to the title match with a 25-6, 31-29 and 25-19 win over Cassopolis in the opening round and then a five-set victory over Coloma in the semifinals.

The Shamrocks nipped the Comets 17-15, 25-23, 24-26, 25-23 and 18-16.

In the finals, Brandywine swept Berrien Springs 25-20, 25-17 and 25-23 to take the title.

Edwardsburg went 2-1 on the day to finish third, while Coloma was fourth. Buchanan defeated Bridgman 23-25, 25-19, 25-14 and 25-10 to take fifth place. Cassopolis ended up eighth after going 0-2 on the day.

Brandywine statistics

Kills

Lauren Leonard 32, Kelsey Prestly 25

Digs

Morgan Smallwood 26, Mackenzie Shelton 25

Blocks

Prestly 7, Leonard 5

Aces

Ashley DeJonge 3

Assists

Jessy Cooper 9

Edwardsburg statistics

Emily Kozinski – 35 kills, 25 digs, 5 blocks, 7 aces

Rachel Vite – 7 kills, 10 blocks

Andrea LaPlace – 8 kills, 3 blocks and 1 ace

Nikki Brady – 26 kills, 1 block

Bronnie Tafunai – 11 kills, 1 block, 1 ace and 17 digs

Emily Getz – 68 assists, 20 digs, 5 blocks and 2 aces

Paige Mueller – 66 digs, 6 aces

Ally McIntee – 59 digs, 11 aces

Buchanan statistics

Audrey Oake 30 digs, 10 aces, 50 kills

Dani Dale 6 digs, 17 kills

Kelsie Patrick 6 digs, 2kills

Pachia Benson 27 digs, 4 aces, 95 assists

Rachel Bonek 2 digs, 7 blocks, 5 kills

Ashley Simpson 3 digs, 8 kills

Baylie Lee 12 digs, 2 aces

Brooke Schultz 23 digs

Ashley Luzadre 19 digs, 2 aces

Cassopolis statistics

Reese Ellison- 12 kills, 8 Aces

Jocelyn Transou- 6 kills, 3 aces

Savannah Sullivan- 3 aces, 20 assists

Courtnee Anderson- 1 ace, 4 kills, 6 digs

Devan Hillyer-4 kills, 1 block

Meagan Ruff- 2 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs

Lela Broussard- 2 kills

Lakeland Conference

Volleyball Tournament

First round

Edwardsburg d. Buchanan 25-17, 25-17, 25-15

Coloma d. Bridgman 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22

Berrien Springs d. Cassopolis 25-6, 31-29, 25-19

Semifinals

Brandywine d. Edwardsburg 25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 17-25, 15-7

Berrien Springs d. Coloma 17-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 18-16

Consolation second round

Bridgman d. Cassopolis 19-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-12

Championship match

Brandywine d. Berrien Springs 25-20, 25-17, 25-23

Third place match

Edwardsburg d. Coloma 25-10, 14-25, 25-22, 25-15

Fifth place match

Buchanan d. Bridgman 23-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-10

Overall Standings

1. Brandywine; 2. Berrien Springs; 3. Coloma; 4. Edwardsburg; 5. Buchanan; 6. Bridgman; 7. Cassopolis

Tournament results

1. Brandywine; 2. Berrien Springs; 3. Edwardsburg; 4. Coloma; 5. Buchanan; 6. Bridgman; 7. Cassopolis

Regular Season

1. Brandywine (6-0); 2 (tie) Berrien Springs, Coloma (4-2); 4 (tie) Edwardsburg, Buchanan (3-3); 6. Bridgman (1-5); 7. Cassopolis (0-6)