Stalled out: Clarkston ousted by third-ranked Mercy in quarterfinals
In a blur: Clarkston's Alexis Egler and the Wolves' sights on a Final Four berth were left in a dream state not to be touched, as the Wolves were ousted in the Class A state quarterfinals by Farmington Hills Mercy.
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
OWOSSO — In an unusual occurrence, Loretta Vogel led Farmington Hills Mercy to the state semifinals in her debut season as head coach of the Marlins. Now, she is taking her experienced team back to the Final Four.
Third-ranked Mercy overcame a slow start to post a 26-24, 18-25, 25-17, 25-18 victory over Clarkston at Owosso High School in the Class A state quarterfinals Tuesday to earn its return trip to the Final Four.
Mercy (52-7-2) will face Temperance Bedford at 7:15 p.m. Friday at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena. Birmingham Marian, the defending state champs, will face East Kentwood in the 5:30 p.m. semifinals.
The state finals are set for 2 p.m. Saturday, also at Kellogg Arena.
“We’re used to teams bringing the ball up and I always say ‘be patient.’ And if you noticed, their patience paid off,” said Vogel, who is 2-for-2 in reaching the Final Four after taking over the team before the 2009 season. “We knew when they were going to do a roll shot and when they were going to a short shot. That’s (when) we knew that we (had them). When we know ahead of time what (the other team) is going to do, it makes a big difference.”
Both teams have laid their hats on trademark defense, but the experience of playing in the state quarterfinals and semifinals last season helped calm the storm for Mercy. Clarkston’s players had lost in the regional round the past four seasons and have never experienced the play of the final week of the postseason.
“I think for all of us, being there (last season) and the experience of everything that takes place for those two days is wonderful,” said Vogel. “To represent the state, as one of those four final teams, I can’t think of anything better. I think (the experience) helped us (tonight). We’ve been through it.”
Junior Maddy Doyle led Mercy with 15 kills. The Marlins slowly pulled away from the Wolves, who had not been in this stage of the postseason since the disco era. Clarkston’s last appearance in the Elite Eight came back in 1976, the first year the MHSAA sponsored a state tournament for volleyball.
“I thought when we got to that fourth game, I could see it on their faces,” said Clarkston coach Kelly Avenall. “You could see they haven’t been in this situation before. We haven’t played that way at all this season. We were (tentative) and that’s not how we normally play.
“I think Mercy is very good defensively and they found the spots in our defense,” added Avenall. “We had that lead in the first game and then we had a couple of mistakes and they came back and won that game. Had we been able to hold on in the first game, it would have made a big difference. Instead of being up 1-0, we were down a game. We played well in the second game but we couldn’t keep the momentum going.”
After two close games, Mercy dominated the final two sets to earn the win. Behind its stingy defense, the Marlins allowed the Wolves to make unforced errors while picking the right spots in the holes of Clarkston’s defense.
Clarkston finished its best season in school history with a 48-4-1 record. The Wolves could not continue their magic and advance to the Final Four for the first time.
“It’s hard because we have played better than this,” added Avenall.
In Game 1, Clarkston built leads of 14-8, 21-17 and 23-21 but couldn’t sustain the advantage. Mercy knotted the game at 24-24, then eventually took the 1-0 advantage on a kill by Doyle.
Clarkston trailed only once in Game 2 by a 4-3 count, and built its lead by as many as seven points (18-11 and 24-17) in that set, which ended with a kill by Alexis Egler.
In the final two games, Mercy slowly pulled away. Clarkston held a 2-0 lead in Game 3 but that was the only advantage the Wolves would enjoy. The Marlins opened Game 4 with a 6-1 run and never allowed Clarkston to pose a serious threat, holing the lead between six and nine points until the end.
Stephanie Marani had 10 kills and seven blocks for Clarkston. Jessica Frakes added 10 kills, Egler had six kills, Allison Reis five kills and Haley Barker four aces for the Wolves.
“For us, what made the big difference is we switched up our blocking assignments,” said Vogel. “In the first game we were very fortunate enough to squeak it out (and) in games two, three and four we made some changes blocking to what we felt their tendencies were. That made a big difference.
“We didn’t have as many blocking errors (in the last couple of games). I think we were up four or five blocking errors (more than Clarkston),” added Vogel. “We moved our libero and our left (side hitter) and it worked. Sometimes it doesn’t but tonight it worked.”
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Category: Clarkston, Uncategorized
