Bobcats dominate Rangers in BCS clash
Published 7:11 am Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Leader photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
Leader photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
Leader photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
Leader photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
Leader photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
Leader photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
The Brandywine volleyball team has had its share of struggles this season, but you wouldn’t have known it Monday night when the Bobcats hosted Cassopolis in a BCS Athletic Conference showdown.
The Bobcats dominated the Rangers in straight sets 25-21, 25-13 and 25-21.
“We knew we had to play aggressive and we knew we had to play hard,” Brandywine coach Carrie Bidwell said. “Our communication has improved so much and that has improved our whole level of play.”
While the Bobcats appeared to be in control most of the night, the Rangers were not going away easy.
“We had some wonderful moments and we had some terrible moments,” Cassopolis coach Demi Schrader said. “We are very inconsistent and we are trying to figure out how to keep that under control.”
Brandywine appeared to get a spark from junior Lauren Srmek. While she may not have dominated the stat sheet, her five kills seemed to pick up her team when they needed it.
“I thought Lauren did a great job tonight,” Bidwell said. “She really put the ball down, and when you can get another hitter that puts the ball down and gets kills, it only helps your offense.”
Speaking of offense, the Bobcats were led by Grace Polomcak with 13 kills, Makena Bowen with seven to go with Srmek’s five. Rachel Laurita, Nicole Sachman and Audrey Longley had three aces apiece.
Olivia Whitney contributed 15 digs, while Longley had 14 and Sachman had 12. Bethany Duval led the Bobcats with two blocks.
Despite coming up short on the scoreboard, the Rangers got some great play from a couple of players.
“I thought Lynnzee Armstrong hustled after balls and never gave up,” Schrader said. “I thought Madison Cutting passed very well tonight getting balls up. “Or hitters just struggled a little bit getting them down tonight.”
Armstrong finished with 12 assists, 13 digs and an ace, while Cutting had 12 digs.
Jamie Suseland led the Rangers with six kills, eight digs and two blocks. Maile Barber added five kills, eight digs and two blocks.
The Bobcats (8-7) will travel to Berrien Springs Wednesday night for another BCS matchup.
BRANDYWINE 3, CASSOPOLIS 0
At Brandywine High School
Match results
Brandywine 25-21, 25-13, 25-21.
Brandywine individual statistics
Kills
Grace Polomcak 13
Makena Bowen 7
Lauren Srmek 5
Assists
Audrey Longley 29
Digs
Olivia Whitney 15
Longley 14
Nicole Sachman 12
Blocks
Bethany Duval 2
Aces
Rachel Laurita 3
Sachman 3
Longley 3
Cassopolis individual statistics
Aces
Kayla Rowan 1
Lynnzee Armstrong 1
Kiersten Hartsell 2
Kills
Jami Suseland 6
Maile Barber 5
Sophie Fiala 3
Rowan 2
Assists
Armstrong 12
Digs
Rowan 9
Barber 8
Suseland 8
Armstrong 13
Madison Cutting 12
Blocks Solo
Rowan 1
Fiala 1
Block assists
Suseland 2
Rowan 2
Barber 2
Madison Brooks 1
Fiala 3
Varsity records: Cassopolis 5-8, Brandywine 8-7.
