There is a new standard of excellence when it comes to the Niles volleyball program.

After setting a new record for victories last season, the Vikings topped that with a pair of wins at the Power League quad Tuesday night.

Niles defeated perennial state champion (Class D) Battle Creek St. Philip 25-15, 25-15 and 25-13 before knocking off SMAC foe Battle Creek Lakeview 25-22, 26-24 and 25-12 to improve to 45-3-4 on the year.

“Battle Creek St. Phil has a great program, so we knew they would be fundamentally strong,” said Niles coach Jenny Nate. “So I was pleased to play focused ball and pull out the win. Lakeview has outstanding hitters and an excellent team, so we knew it would be an intense match. That is exactly the kind of fast-paced play we wanted tonight to prepare for the SMAC Conference Tournament Saturday and districts next week.

“We were able to work on increasing the speed of our game tonight and set the pace for the upcoming weekend.”

Lakeview is hosting the SMAC tournament.

The “big three” up front for the Vikings dominated with a combined 64 kills and 25 blocks.

Bella Rasler finished with 33 kills and seven blocks, while Lexi Smith had 30 kills and seven blocks. Nola Wallace had 11 blocks and four kills.

Bre Love had 19 points, two aces and 40 digs. Carly Barton had 76 assists, 16 digs, three kills, three blocks to go along with nine points. Abbie Harpenau had six kills and six blocks for the Vikings.

 

POWER VOLLEYBALL QUAD

At Richland

Match results

Niles d. Battle Creek St. Philip 25-15, 25-15, 25-13.

Niles d. Battle Creek Lakeview 25-22, 26-24, 25-12.

 

Individual statistics

Leading scorers

Bre Love 19 points, 2 aces

Bianca Pickens 15 points

Bella Rasler 10 points, 2 aces

Lexi Smith 10 points, 1 ace

Madison Cavanaugh 10 points

Carly Barton 9 points

Nikki Nate 7 points

 

Kills

Rasler 33

Smith 30

Abbie Harpenau 6

Nola Wallace 4

Megan Kohler 4

Barton 3

Blocks

Wallace 11

Smith 7

Rasler 7

Harpenau 6

Barton 3

Kohler 1

 

Digs

Love 40

Smith 19

Rasler 17

Barton 16

Pickens 11

 

Assists

Barton 76

Varsity record: Niles 45-3-4.

 

Vicksburg Mini

VICKSBURG — The No. 5-ranked Buchanan volleyball team swept Centreville, Portage Northern, Edwardsburg and host Vicksburg to improve to 43-6 on the year.

The Bucks got 52 kills, 25 digs and three aces from Alex Tobler, while Liz Kuntz added 30 kills and 12 blocks.

Britta Mollberg had 20 kills, 23 digs, four aces and two blocks. Megan Adkerson finished with 18 kills and 30 digs, while Taylor Strauss added led the team with 48 digs.

 

VICKSBURG MINI

At Vicksburg

Match results

Buchanan d. Centerville 25-21, 25-10.

Buchanan d. P Northern 25-20 25-11.

Buchanan d. Edwardsburg 25-22, 23-25.

Buchanan d. Vicksburg 21-25, 25-17.
Individual statistics

Alex Tobler 25 digs, 3 aces, 52 kills

Liz Kuntz 1 dig, 30 kills, 12 blocks

Andrea Bair 2 digs, 1 ace, 2 kills, 2 blocks

Madison Schau 5 digs, 2 kills

Ali McClaran 14 digs, 1 ace

Megan Adkerson 30 digs, 18 kills

Taylor Strauss 48 digs, 1 ace

Britta Mollberg 23 digs, 2 blocks, 4 aces,

20 kills

Varsity record: Buchanan 43-6.