NILES — The Brandywine volleyball team proved in its BCS Athletic Conference game against New Buffalo on Thursday night just how important stepping up to serve can be in close game situations.

For the first two sets of the conference match, the Bobcats had leads over the Bison, 25-20 and 25-12, who struggled in both sets to keep serving errors to a minimum. The third game proved a challenge for the Bobcats, who won, 26-24.

“Serving is a big part of the game,” said Brandywine head coach Ray Prestly. “Do I penalize them for missing serves? No. I encourage them to be aggressive.”

Bobcat freshman Clara DePriest set the tone for the night in the first set as she opened play by serving Brandywine to a five-point lead, which included a pair of aces.

New Buffalo failed to counteract after an early serve hit the net. It took two kills and a block by Kylie Myers before the Bison’s head coach, Kevin Labaj, called a timeout with Brandywine leading 11-6. 

Labaj called another timeout, six points later, as Brandywine continued to keep its errors to a minimum. After the timeout, New Buffalo’s Sophia DeOliveira hit the ball in the net on her serve, giving Brandywine another point.

The set ended with Brandywine beating the Bison 25-20 after the Bobcats’ Bethany Duval went on a four-point serving spree after Bison’s Emma Lantz hit her serve into the net.

In the second set, New Buffalo’s first serve by Mary Mayer ended up in the net, giving the Bobcats’ DePriest another serving rally early on, earning the team a six-point lead.

Brandywine continued to dominate in the second set, with kills by numerous players, including three kills and two blocks by Myers, two kills by Duval, and a kill each from junior Elizabeth Stockdale and senior Megan Schmidt.

The Bison continued to make passing errors and hit the ball outside the court on several side outs.

The longest serving rally for New Buffalo was by junior Rachel Hofstetter, who put the ball in the net on her fourth serve. The Bobcats ended the second set winning 25-12 over the Bison.

In the third game, New Buffalo stepped back on the court more organized than the Bobcats, who had made substitutions.

“I tried to get some of the other kids in,” Prestly said. “At the varsity level, it’s about winning. We are looking at a process to get to that win. When that process isn’t working, I need to make the changes.”

Prestly made several substitutions as the Bison continued to sustain an early lead over Brandywine. When the Bobcats trailed the Bison 21-16, Prestly called a timeout and talked about better communication in his huddle.

With Brandywine still behind, Myers had four integral kills. A comeback was sustained by serving success from DePriest and junior Kristen Alvord, as they both kept the ball on the court and forced the Bison to make poor passes. The Bobcats defeated the Bison 26-24.

Prestly, from his spot on the court, sensed the team’s momentum taking a hit in the third set. Therefore, beating the Bison was a test, he said.

“The biggest thing is the communication,” Prestly said. “If they aren’t talking or letting their teammates know what’s going on, then we start to lose focus.”

Prestly said he is also trying to work on keeping the team’s attitudes up, even after making errors.

“If they made an error or a mistake, they get down on themselves,” he said. “I’m trying to teach them not to do that.”

In terms of the serving game, Prestly said in practices, he encourages the team to fix serves that end up in the net or out of bounds, but he wants the players to keep their aggressive nature.

“They still have that encouragement to keep serving hard,” he said. “Then they make adjustments so it’s a good serve.”

The Brandywine volleyball team won the Watervliet Invitational on Saturday.

The Bobcats defeated the host Panthers, Bangor and Lawton 2-0 in pool play. In the quarterfinals, Brandywine defeated Bangor 25-14 and 25-21, while in the semifinals, the Bobcats knocked off Bridgman 25-18, 22-25 and 15-11.

Brandywine also needed three sets against South Haven in the championship match. The Bobcats prevailed 15-25, 25-22 and 15-13.