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THREE RIVERS — Both the Edwardsburg and Dowagiac volleyball teams made quick work of their Division 2 district opponents in Monday’s quarterfinal round in Three Rivers. 

Edwardsburg disposed of Paw Paw 25-19, 25-8, 25-13 to advance to Wednesday’s second semifinal at 6:30 p.m. against host Three Rivers. The other semifinal match Wednesday will pit Dowagiac, a 25-9, 25-10, 25-14 winner over Parchment, against Vicksburg at 5 p.m. Winners return for the championship at 6 p.m. Thursday. 

Edwardsburg head coach Sarah Strefling didn’t know what to expect against Paw Paw. The Lady Eddies have been battling some illness the last week.

“I’ll be honest, we can be a hot or cold team. Sometimes we show up and sometimes we don’t. It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the net it depends which team shows up on our side of the net that counts,” Strefling said. 

After looking a little tense in its play at the beginning of the match, Strefling was pleased with the Eddies’ ability to settle in and play a solid match. 

“Once we settled in we could finally take a couple breaths and  play our game. With the little thread of sickness we’ve had going on it made me a little anxious coming into this match. Our ability to show up even when we didn’t feel our best was nice to see,” Strefling said. 

Junior hitter Sarah Pippin had 13 kills, five digs and one ace for Edwardsburg. 

“Everyone knows Sarah is a great hiter. She has improved her all-around game this season, is playing really strong defense and is just being a good leader. To be able to hear her vocally out there and her willingness not wanting to lose are crucial to our success,” Strefling said. 

Ella Laskowski added six kills, four digs, two blocks and pair of aces. Kya Shier posted five kills and one dig. Sophia Kuntz chipped in four digs and one assist. 

Sophomore setter Olive Walk added one kill, one dig, eight aces and 23 assists. 

“Olive is doing a great job at setter for us. That might not have been the role she planned to fill when the season began, but she’s stepped in done a great job. Her teammates have continued to build her up. She’s just a real competitor and can pick up our team whenever needed,” Strefling said. 

Game one was tight until Edwardsburg nudged ahead of Paw Paw 14-13 on a tip by Mya Eberlein. Pippin served four straight points, including an ace, to put the Eddies up 22-18. The Eddies closed out the game capitalizing on an unforced error before getting  a kill from Laskowski. 

Edwardsburg jumped out to a 21-4 advantage in the second game, including 12 consecutive service points from Walk. The Eddies then got a key kill and service ace from Pippin before getting the final two points of the game on unforced errors by Paw Paw. 

A kill by Laskowski gave Edwardsburg a 21-12 advantage in the third game. Pippin had two key kills and Walk added a critical tip near the end of the game  to help the Eddies cap off the three-game sweep.

Dowagiac sailed out to a 22-8 lead in the opening game of its match with Parchment behind the strong serving of Hanah McCuddy and Zabrina Shivers. Emerson Krueger’s ace on game point helped the Chieftains finish out the game. 

Dowagiac’s McCuddy served nine consecutive points, including two aces to put the Chieftains up 9-0 to start the second game. The Chieftains took advantage of a Panthers’ error on game point to end it and go up 2-0 in the match. 

Dowagiac steadily built on its lead in the third game. An ace by the Chieftains’ Riley Todd put them in front 20-9. Claire Hess served three straight points and Krueger had a kill  to help Dowagiac win the game and match.

“I thought our girls came in prepared and we did a great job communicating and working on things we’ve struggled with. Riley did a great job putting balls away on the outside as our go-to hitter. Our libero Zabrina Shivers played well and Tessa Deering did a nice job in the last two games with service runs and widening the gap against Parchment,” said Dowagiac coach Amber Todd.

Riley Todd had five kills and three blocks. Shivers finished with five kills and 11 digs. McCuddy added four digs and 14  assists. Tessa Deering posted three kills, 10 aces and 11 digs. Marlie  Carpenter chipped in with three kills and two blocks. Brenna Mott conributed five digs and Ava Nate had four kills.