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RICHMOND — The Niles and Edwardsburg volleyball teams opened up their 2023 seasons aat the Gull Lake Invitational Friday.

The Vikings went 3-1 and the Eddies 2-2.

Niles came out of pool play 3-0 after defeating Grand Rapids Union 25-11 and 25-3, Three Rivers 25-23 and 25-14, and Hamilton 25-22 and 28-26. The Vikings entered the Gold Tournament the No. 2 seed.

Three Rivers avenged its pool play loss with a 25-19 an 25-21 win over Niles in the semifinals.

“We started our season very strong this morning,” said Niles Coach Samantha Zimmerman. “We were 3-0 coming out of pool play going into the gold bracket with the second seed. We played some great games in pool play and really showed our grit at the end of games. The start of the semifinals match was slow for us and we dug ourselves into a hole.

“Again, we worked hard to fight back at the end of the match, but we didn’t have the same energy that we had in the morning. I am proud of their work ethic coming out day 1. Now we reset and travel to Portage Central tomorrow morning.”

Bree Lake led Niles with 28 kills, while Nyla Hoover had nine aces. Kaydence Jacobs 39 assists, Amelia Florkowski 36 digs and Kendall Gerdes seven blocks.

Edwardsburg Volleyball

The Edies were 2-1 in pool play as they defeated Vicksburg 25-15 and 25-16, lost to Battle Creek Central 25-14 and 25-20, and defeated Schoolcraft 25-16 and 25-13.

Edwardsburg lost to Hamilton 25-20 and 25-21 in Gold Tournament play.

Drew Glaser had a big day with 37 kills, 13 digs, a block and seven aces. Sarah Pippin added 19 kills, 16 digs and a block, while Lexi Schimpa had nine kills, 11 digs, two blocks. Four aces and 78 assists.

More statistics can be bound by clicking here.