Dowagiac’s Mary Magin had 14 kills against Three Rivers Thursday night. (Leader photo/SCOTT NOVAK)

The Dowagiac volleyball team has come a long way in a short period of time under first-year coach Vince Strefling.

The Chieftains gave the two-time defending Wolverine Conference champion Three Rivers Wildcats all they wanted before falling 3-1 in a non-divisional match Thursday night.

Three Rivers held on for a 25-21, 22-25, 25-13 and 25-23 win over Dowagiac.

The Chieftains almost forced a fifth set despite being down 19-12 in the fourth.

Dowagiac rallied to tie the Wildcats at 21-21 on a kill by Taylor Hulett.

A Big block by Anne Ennesser gave the Chieftains a 23-22 lead, but Dowagiac was unable to hold on.

“That’s a solid team,” Strefling said. “They are not back-to-back conference champions for nothing. We didn’t have an answer for No. 2 (Hannah Landis). She is solid. But I think we proved that we can play. To take them almost go five with them and have a chance to win is a huge improvement.

“As I said, volleyball is back in Dowagiac. These kids are finding ways to play and now they just have to find that way to win. It is fun to watch them learn and get excited about it.”

Anne Ennesser had a big game for the Chieftains with 17 kills, five blocks and two.

Mary Magin finished with 14 kills and Amanda Badner with 10. Badner also had two aces.

Kassidy Binns, who also had two aces, finished the night with 40 assists.

Three Rivers d. Dowagiac 3-1

Set scores

25-21, 22-25, 25-13, 25-23

Dowagiac statistics

Kills

Anne Ennesser 17

Mary Magin 14

Amanda Badner 10

Blocks

Ennesser 5

Taylor Hulett 3

Aces

Badner 2

Ennesser 2

Kassidy Binns 2

Digs

Natalie Davis 16

Assists

Binns 40

JV results

Three Rivers d. Dowagiac 25-15, 20-25, 15-4