Adams slams Rochester for first OAA-Red win
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — After winning the OAA White Division volleyball crown a year ago, Rochester Adams received its promotion to the OAA Red Division for this season.
Although the Highlanders were in the OAA’s top division from 1994 through 2005, the team was dropped down to the second tier until now.
Adams is finally back amongst the league’s elite teams and the Highlanders picked up its first league win of the season against one of their chief rivals.
Adams dropped the first game to Rochester, but bounced back with wins in the final three games, 25-27, 25-19, 26-24 to move to 1-2 in league play and 8-10-2 overall.
“It’s always nice to beat Rochester,” admitted Adams coach Raey Zoellner. “We beat them last year at the Rochester City Tournament. Beating them in league play is even nicer.
“I know that we are not favored in our league. Lake Orion and Clarkston are very tough and they are both (state ranked),” continued Zoellner, who lost several key players from last year’s 35-6-2 team. “But we are coming along. We lost some very talented players form a very successful team. We knew it would take some time for us to come together.”
After shooting itself in the collective foot repeatedly in Game 1, Adams regained the momentum and won three straight against Rochester (15-6-0, 0-1).
In Game 4, the Highlanders built a 22-13 advantage only to see the Falcons go on an 11-2 run to knot the game at 24-24. Adams scored the final two points to earn the win.
Adams was led by Allie Recchia with 30 assists. Lexi Lewandowski added four blocks and Jennifer Gerlach tallied 12 kills. For Rochester, Stehpanie Sikorski dished out 16 assists and Whitney Arnold had 12 kills.
Rochester, which finished a disappointing sixth out of nine schools last year in the OAA Red Division despite a large senior class, is slowly building with several new players and a new coach, Lauren Duquette. The former Oakland University defensive standout has seen her team go through a roller coaster ride during the season’s first month.
“We’re progressing and we’re getting a lot better, but we have a long way to go,” said Duquette. “We have a very good setter in Stephanie Sikorski and she’s been a great leader. But we still have a lot of girls who don’t have a lot of (varsity) experience. We could see it in the fourth game. They were terrified to make a mistake once we tied it. We need to be building each other up and helping each other. I think we got quiet out there and that’s why we lost the fourth game. We’ve got to communicate better.
“We were down 20-9 and 22-13 in the fourth game, so we did a nice job coming back on them when they had the momentum,” added Duquette, who has four sophomores, four juniors and four seniors in her rotation. “We wouldn’t have come back like that a few weeks ago. But we still need to learn how to win a g close game like that. If we could have on that game, we would have forced a fifth game. Who knows what could happen?”
Adams graduated five players and lost one player for the season to a broken hand. Still the Highlanders have seen steady improvement in recent weeks and the win over Rochester is just another stepping stone.
“I like our chemistry. We’re really getting along well and that’s huge with volleyball,” said Zoellner. “When you have girls who get along and they communicate well, it will translate into some competitive volleyball.
“I’m pleased with how our outside (hitters), Jennifer Gerlach and Sophie Smith, are playing right now. They are more productive than they were in the early games of the season,” continued Zoellner. “We lost most of our best hitters from last year. Everybody goes on and does what they are supposed to be doing and that moves us forward. We are playing that much better and we are doing so without no one standout player this year. We’re working hard as a team and it is starting to pay off.”
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams
