Bliss, Brown power Tigers to two wins

     Denia Brown and Hannah Bliss combined for 61 kills as the Nevis volleyball team defeated two Northland Conference rivals at the Tiger Arena.

     Bliss’ 13 kills and Brown’s 12 kills led the Tigers to a 25-15, 25-14, 25-14 win over Cass Lake-Bena Monday night while Brown’s 19 kills and Bliss’ 17 kills powered Nevis to a 25-22, 25-20, 25-11 victory over Laporte Tuesday night.

     In the match against Cass Lake-Bena, Brown had four kills, two ace serves and a block to lead the way in Set 1. Allison Booker’s three kills, Hannah Anderson’s ace serve, Bliss’ three kills and a kill by McKenzie Harris aided the Tigers, who jumped out to a 13-5 lead.

     Booker served the Tigers to a 7-0 lead in Set 2 behind an ace and kills by Anderson, Jordyn Lucas and Brown. Two kills by Bliss and an ace serve by Lucas made it 15-9 before Ruby Vedbraaten served seven points for a 23-11 advantage. Bliss had three kills and Booker had a kill during that stretch. A kill by Brown closed out the set.

     Two ace serves by Bliss, an ace serve by Booker, and three kills and a block by Brown gave the Tigers a 10-4 lead in Set 3. Brown then served three aces and Bliss had a kill as Nevis extended the lead to 17-4. Two kills apiece by Bliss and Brown helped close out the match.

     Brown served five aces and 13 points, Vedbraaten served 11 points and tallied 18 digs and Bliss had 19 set assists to lead the Tigers. Lucas (12), Booker (11), Bliss (11), Anderson (11) and Brown (10) also had double digits in digs for Nevis.

     Cass Lake fell to 2-3 in the conference and 11-6 overall.

     In the win over Laporte, Anderson served 11 points, Vedbraaten served two aces and nine points, and Bliss (19) and Anderson (18) combined for 37 set assists. Vedbraaten (20), Lucas (16), Booker (13), Bliss (13) and Brown (12) all had double digits in digs while Bliss and Brown had three ace blocks each.

     The win lifted Nevis to 4-0 in the conference and 7-9 overall while Laporte fell to 3-3 in the conference and 7-3 overall.

Nevis statistics vs. Cass Lake-Bena

Serving: Vedbraaten 13 for 14, Lucas 5 for 5 (1 ace), Booker 11 for 12 (2 aces), Bliss 8 for 11 (2 aces), Brown 14 for 16 (5 aces), Anderson 14 for 14 (1 ace), Bennett 3 for 4.

Service points: Brown 13, Vedbraaten 11, Anderson 10, Booker 8, Bliss 6, Lucas 2, Bennett 2.

Attacks: Vedbraaten 3, Lucas 3 (1 kill), Booker 17 (4 kills), Bliss 25 (13 kills), Brown 22 (12 kills), Harris 5 (1 kill), Anderson 11 (1 kill).

Set assists: Bliss 19, Anderson 10.

Digs: Vedbraaten 18, Lucas 12, Booker 11, Bliss 11, Anderson 11, Brown 10, Harris 3.

Solo blocks: Brown 4, Bliss 2, Harris 1, Anderson 1.

Serve receive: Vedbraaten 10 for 11, Lucas 3 for 4, Booker 2 for 2, Bliss 2 for 2, Brown 1 for 2, Anderson 5 for 6.

Nevis statistics vs. Laporte

Serving: Vedbraaten 13 for 14 (2 aces), Lucas 8 for 10, Booker 6 for 7, Bliss 11 for 13 (1 ace), Brown 10 for 12 (1 ace), Anderson 17 for 17 (1 ace).

Service points: Anderson 11, Vedbraaten 9, Bliss 7, Brown 6, Lucas 5, Booker 1.

Attacks: Vedbraaten 2 (1 kill), Lucas 11 (2 kills), Booker 13 (1 kill), Bliss 31 (17 kills), Brown 35 (19 kills), Harris 4, Anderson 6.

Set assists: Bliss 19, Anderson 18, Harris 1.

Digs: Vedbraaten 20, Lucas 16, Booker 13, Bliss 13, Brown 12, Anderson 5, Harris 1.

Solo blocks: Bliss 3, Brown 3.

Serve receive: Vedbraaten 14 for 14, Lucas 17 for 17, Booker 3 for 3, Brown 1 for 1, Harris 1 for 1, Anderson 3 for 3.