EDWARDSBURG — Senior Night definitely affected Edwardsburg volleyball player Taylor Sipe-Bretschneider.

But she didn’t show it on the court Thursday.

“I was killing with the nerves,” said Sipe-Bretschneider, who’s one of seven seniors on the Eddies volleyball team. “My stomach was full of butterflies. But, I absolutely loved it. It was my best game of the season.”

That game by Sipe-Bretschneider, which featured 11 kills and nine blocks, helped Edwardsburg defeat Dowagiac, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17, 25-12, in Wolverine Conference West Division action.

A refuse to loss attitude spread throughout the seniors that played for the Eddies against the Chieftains.

“We came in and said we were going to stomp them and not let (Dowagiac) get the best of us,” Sipe-Bretschneider said.

Edwardsburg seniors backed up their strong words with strong performances.

Alexis Blake had 10 kills, three service aces and 10 digs, Catie Razzano had five kills, Emilee Schimpa totaled 11 digs, Lindsay Nunez had nine digs, Bri Nemeth collected seven service aces and Madison Hatkevich contributed a key kill which gave the Eddies a 10-5 lead in game four.

“The seniors were really excited,” said Edwardsburg coach Chrissy Breisch, whose team improved to 14-13-2 overall and 3-2 in the West Division. “They brought a lot of intensity. I wish we wouldn’t have lost that one game. I’m going to chalk that up to nerves. But I’m glad that we got the win at home.”

Dowagiac erased a 19-15 deficit in game two and rallied to win the game to tie the match up at 1-1. Mary Magin’s service ace was the game-winning point for the Chieftains in the second game.

“I think we got in a good groove,” said Dowagiac coach Sara Lawrence. “In the first game, we kind of got the kinks out. In the second game, we came back and got the balls in and started attacking.”

In the pivotal game three, Dowagiac was in position to win the game and take control of the match. The Chieftains led 14-10 after getting a service ace from Gabby Leonard.

“I just told the seniors, ‘is this how you want to go out in the last home game of your senior year’,” Breisch said. “That turned their intensity all-around.”

With more energy and focus, momentum quickly shifted to Edwardsburg as the Eddies went on a 12-0 run with Nemeth collecting five clutch service aces during that stretch. A service ace from Schimpa clinched the game for the hosts.

“We just got down and we couldn’t receive the ball and serve receive so just kept taking a beating,” Lawrence said. Edwardsburg never trailed in game four as the Eddies finished the game on an 11-3 run. Taylor Hepler’s kill gave Edwardsburg the game and the match.

“That was awesome,” Breisch said about game four. “We served tough in that game.”

Hepler, who’s a junior, finished with five kills. Annie Ennesser led Dowagiac offensively with seven kills. Amanda Badner added five.

 

 

Edwardsburg d. Dowagiac 3-1

At Edwardsburg

Kills: Annie Ennesser (D) 7, Mary Magin (D) 5, Amanda Badner (D) 5, Taylor Sipe-Bretschneider (E) 11, Alexis Blake (E) 10, Catie Razzano (E) 5, Taylor Hepler (E) 5.

Blocks: Ennesser (D) 2, Badner (D) 2, Sipe-Bretschneider (E) 9, Hepler (E) 4

Aces: Gabby Leonard (D) 4, Magin (D) 2, Badner (D) 2, Bri Nemeth (E) 7, Blake (E) 3.

Assists: Leonard (D) 11, Payton Szlanfucht (E) 46

Digs: Katie Dantone (D) 12, Hazel Kennedy (D) 7, Badner (D) 5, Leonard (D) 4, Emilee Schimpa (E) 11, Blake (E) 10, Lindsay Nunez (E) 9