Buchanan locks up Lakeland regular season title

Published 10:25 pm Saturday, October 14, 2023

By Scott Novak

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BUCHANAN — The host Buchanan Bucks laid claim to their second straight Lakeland Conference regular season championship with a 3-0 sweep of Dowagiac Thursday night.

But it was not easy.

The Chieftains gave the Bucks everything they had before falling 25-21, 25-22 and 25-18.

“We played well tonight,” said Buchanan Coach Shelly Bossert. “We had some amazing defensive plays which generated big kills. Tonight, was senior night, and it’s always an emotional night. Once we settled down, we played our game and came out ahead.  I’m very proud of the whole team effort tonight.”

Despite the loss, Dowagiac Coach Amber Todd was pleased with how her team played.

“I am extremely proud of the energy and fight my team put up last night,” she said. “Brooklyn Smith did a fantastic job on defense and she fed our hitters the ball. Tessa Deering stepped it up by putting a lot of balls away. Brenna Mott served well and played the best defense I have seen her play this season. Abbey Dobberstein was solid on the block and smart with her attacks at the net. All of the girls on our team fought until the end and we can say that we put up a good fight against a solid Buchanan team.”

Chloe Aalfs led the Bucks (21-5, 3-0 Lakeland) with 16 kills. She also had 12 digs. Izzy Tibbles added eight kills and Addy Dombrowski seven. Laney Kehoe had a team-high 19 digs, while Sophia Bachman finished the match with 13 digs and Riley Capron 11 digs.

Bachman also had 39 assists and a team-high three aces.

Deering had 11 kills to lead the Chieftains, who also got eight kills from Dobberstein, who also had 12 digs and four blocks. Smith finished with 23 assists and 18 digs. Mott ended the night with 15 digs and Maggie Weller 10 digs.

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