The Bison Varsity volleyball team finished their week on a high note, winning Class C Districts at Watervliet.

The Bison faced host team Watervliet Panthers on November 2 and won the nail biting match against the SAC Conference champs 25-20, 24-26, 27-25, 21-25 and 15-12.

Eva Balich finished the match with 16 digs, 43 assists; Alex Briatta tallied 16 kills, 19 digs, 6 blocks, 8 aces; Lena Madison had 11 kills, 10 digs, 7 aces; Korbi Forker had 11 kills, 9 digs; Kyra Heit made 26 digs; April Lowe made 9 kills, 14 digs, 3 blocks, 2 aces, 11 points; Kayla Folino finished with 1 kill, 8 digs, 2 assists; Haylee Ward had 4 kills, 3 digs, 4 assists; Ariel Riley tallied 1 kill, 12 digs; Kelly Lowe ended with 1 kill, 4 digs.

The Bison advanced further in the bracket when they defeated the Bridgman Bees November 4. They won 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20 on Wednesday.

Aggressive play and early leads allowed the Bison to set the pace and keep the Bees off balance. New Buffalo took an early lead, outscoring Bridgman 6-1 in the beginning of the first game. Bridgman came back to tie the score at 11, but the Bison soon reclaimed the lead at 20-12.

The Bison took a 7-1 lead in the second game. The teams eventually tied at 20 points before the Bees grabbed a 5-0 run to win the game and tie the match.

It was the Bees’ turn to take an early lead in the third match, at one point leading 11-4. The Bison pulled even at 17 before using a 6-0 run to win.

The Bison easily won the fourth game, thanks in part to another early lead.

Alex Briatta racked up 15 kills and 5 aces for the Bison. New Buffalo had 17 aces in the match, 7 from Lena Madison, who also had 2 kills and 2 blocks. April Lowe added 6 kills and 5 aces. Korbi Forker had 4 kills and 2 blocks. Eva Balich had 4 kills, 6 digs, 2 aces, 14 points, 1 block and 33 assists. Ariel Riley finished the game with 11 digs. Kyra Heit had 18 digs.

On Thursday, the Bison clinched the district title by defeating Niles/ Brandywine 25-17, 25-17, 20-25, 26-24.

The teams split two tournaments they played each other in during the regular season. This time around New Buffalo took the advantage early on, winning the first two games by eight points.

At the start of the first game, the Bison took a 6-0 lead thanks to great teamwork by servers Eva Balich, April Lowe and Alex Briatta. Balich was serving again when the Bison built their lead to 18-8, the largest lead of the night.

The Lady Bobcats claimed a one-point lead three times at the beginning of the second game but Briatta’s serving proved troublesome for Brandywine. New Buffalo took the lead and won.

Brandywine pulled into the lead 14-5 in the third game before a series of scores by the Bison closed the gap to 18-17. A pair of points from the Lady Bobcats gave them the game.

Lena Madison, Briatta and Korbi Forker led the Bison back into the lead in the fourth game. The Bison led 15-9 before a rally gave Brandywine a brief lead. The Bison came from behind to win the match.

Briatta finished the night with 18 digs and 13 kills for the Bison. Lowe made 10 kills and Balich had 27 assists.

The victory at Watervliet put the Bison in contention for the regional title. New Buffalo travels to White Pigeon on Tuesday, November 10, at 6 p.m. to face last year’s state champions, Schoolcraft.