RICHLAND — The Niles varsity volleyball team reached the semifinals of the Gull Lake Invitational before being eliminated by Schoolcraft 3-0 on Friday.

It was the season opener for the Vikings.

In pool play, Niles beat Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 25-6 and 25-11 and fell to Hamilton 13-25 and 24-26.

“We came out the No. 2 seed and headed into the challenge match and defeated Battle Creek Lakeview 25-18 and 26-24,” Niles coach Jenny Nate said. “That win advanced us to the highest Gold Division of bracket play out of 12 teams, where we knocked out Lakeshore 25-18 and 25-19 and then made it to the semifinals where we battled, but lost a heartbreaker to Schoolcraft, 22-25, 25-23 and 13-15.”
Nate was pleased with the effort of her team.
“I am thrilled with my team’s level of play today,” she said. “They are very young and I knew would be competitive at this tourney, but they far exceeded my expectations and really came together to beat some very strong teams. We played outstanding defense thanks to defensive specialists Courtney Nixon and Holly Walker, and libero Bre Love.

“Because we were able to consistently get the ball to our experienced junior setter, Kelsey Barton, she was able to feed our strong offensive hitters Lexi Smith, Jazmin Brann, Bella Rasler and Megan Kohler, who were able to put the ball away. We have a lot of work to do moving forward, but I am excited with the outcome today and feel confident that this team has a great shot at some big wins and a successful record.

“I am truly impressed with the way my upperclassmen showed great leadership which helped my younger players feel supported and in turn brought their level of play up to the caliber we needed to make it to the semifinals.”

 

Gull Lake Invitational

Niles statistics

Leading scorers

Holly Walker 33 points, 4 aces

Megan Kohler 22 points

Kelsey Barton 20 points, 8 aces

Courtney Nixon 20 points, 2 aces

Bella Rasler 18 points, 3 aces

Bre Love 16 points, 6 aces

 

Kills

Rasler 42

Lexi Smith 31

Barton 22

Jazmin Brann 20

Kohler 13

 

Blocks

Brann 11

Kohler 7

Rasler 4

Smith 3

Barton 1

 

Assists

Barton 107

 

Digs

Love 27

Nixon 24

Rasler 23

Walker 15

Barton 11