Every point was important in Tuesday’s BCS Athletic Conference volleyball match between Brandywine and Cassopolis.

Led by Michelle Green and Rachelle Williams, the Rangers prevailed in the hard fought contest, 25-22, 28-26, 23-25, 25-21.

Green totaled 12 kills and three service aces, while Williams had seven kills, eight service aces and five digs for the Rangers, whose biggest lead was five points. The Bobcats biggest lead was six points.

“A lot of it is just determination,” Cassopolis coach Ray Prestly said about why his team was able to win. “That’s something we’ve been working on as a team. We get down on ourselves and then we have to claw back. Right now, we’re good at clawing back. Our focus is to stay climbing forward instead of crawling back.”

The Rangers erased a 19-17 deficit in game one, a 14-9 deficit in game two, and a 12-7 deficit in game four.

“All four (games) were really close,” Prestly said. “It’s great competition. A lot of the girls know each other so it’s a friendly rivalry.”

Brandywine scored three of the final four points to win game three and jumped out to a 12-7 lead in game four after getting a service ace from Justine Sater. Cassopolis then rallied to take a 19-15 and eventually won the game and the match after an illegal hit was called on the Bobcats.

“We came off a very good win (last Thursday) against River Valley and we had a good weekend (at the Buchanan Tournament, finishing 3-1),” Brandywine coach Carrie Bidwell said. “I think we just relaxed (against Cassopolis) and took things for granted. After we realized that we needed to step up and play we weren’t consistent enough to follow through and get the win.”

Makena Bowen and Olivia DePriest each had six kills to lead the Bobcats offensively. Sydney Carlson added four kills and 13 digs.

 

Cassopolis d. Brandywine 3-1

Set scores

25-22, 28-26, 23-25, 25-21

 

Individual statistics

Kills: Michelle Green (C) 12, Rachelle Williams (C) 7, Marissa Waldschmidt (C) 3, Makena Bowen (B) 6, Olivia DePriest (B) 6, Sydney Carlson (B) 4

Blocks: Jami Suseland (C) 2, DePriest (B) 5

Aces: Williams (C) 8, Green (C) 3, Justine Sater (B) 6

Assists: Kaylyn Forrest (C) 39, Emily Erwin (B) 57

Digs: Tori Baker (C) 12, Williams (C) 5, Forrest (C) 3, Carlson (B) 13, Abbey Cole (B) 11, Sater (B) 7, Alyssa Bolen (B) 4, Erwin (B) 3

 

Varsity records

Cassopolis 10-9-2, Brandywine 14-16