DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac volleyball team had a busy week as it swept Sturgis in Wolverine Conference action on Thursday and then went 3-3-1 at the Coloma Invitational against some tough competition.

Dowagiac defeated the Trojans 25-20, 25-18, 25-11 to improve to 3-4 in conference matches.

“This was a nice homecoming week win for us,” said Dowagiac coach Tony Hooley. “First, it stopped a four-game skid, and second, it let us move ahead of Sturgis in the conference standings. The first several points of the match were fiercely fought for and my initial thought was that we were in for a long night. Sturgis came out swinging and played very scrappy, but our girls played extremely well for most of the match and showed improvement in our ball-handling and offensive efficiency.”

At Coloma, the Chieftains defeated Saugatuck, Coloma and Lawton, while they split with Lakeshore in pool play.

Edwardsburg, Brandywine and Lakeshore all defeated the Chieftains.

“We went head-to-head with some of the better teams in the area and we held our own,” Hooley said. “We took a couple of sets from a good Lakeshore team and pushed Brandywine into extra points. We had our chances to beat Lakeshore and advance to the finals, but fell a little short (16-14) in the deciding set.”