Lake Orion makes quick work of Rochester
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — Ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 1988, Lake Orion has proven it belongs with the state’s elite. In conference play, the Dragons are also making a claim to be one of the teams to beat.
Lake Orion, which climbed from ninth to third in the Class A coaches poll this week, swept host Rochester 3-0 Tuesday in an OAA Red Division match that last just an hour. By no means, did the Dragons have a letdown against a team in the midst of rebuilding season. The Dragons, who posted wins of 25-20, 25-11, 25-17, have not won a conference title in several years.
SPLIT DECISION: Lake Orion's Liz Kalugar splits two Rochester middle blockers during OAA Red Division play Tuesday. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“We’re all really close,” said Shannon Murdock, one of eight seniors on the roster and a third-year starter at middle blocker. “We take it one day at a time, but we want to stay undefeated (in league play) and play Clarkston for the league (on Oct.18). One of our goals is to win the league this year.”
Lake Orion (27-6-1), whose only losses are to top-five teams Rockford, Farmington Hills Mercy and Birmingham Marian, are now 3-0 in the conference and going strong. The Dragons simply beat Rochester in all phases.
In fact, about the only thing that could slow the Dragons down was a 10-minute delay in Game 2, where officials tried to figure out if host Rochester served out of rotation.
“We didn’t play all that great in the first game. We struggled to run a 6-2 (offense),” said Lake Orion coach Bob Howey. “I don’t know what it was, but we struggled. In the second game and the third game, we played a lot better. I think experienced teams will do that.”
QUICK HANDS: Rochester's Stephanie Sikorski tries to set this reversal during OAA Red Division play against Lake Orion. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
Coming off the Portage Central Tournament, where several state-ranked teams gathered for a day-long jamboree, Lake Orion was primed for a letdown against a team going through a rebuilding campaign. The Dragons slowly wore the young Falcons down, consistently picking apart the Rochester defense and finding seems on the serve and on kill attempts.
Shannon Murdock slammed 14 kills for the Dragons. Liz Kalugar added eight kills, Maddie Hutchinson had 11 digs, Gwen Motley chipped in 12 assists and Dan Schrauben 12 assists and five serving aces.
Whitney Arnold had seven kills and seven digs for Rochester. Sophia Menzo added five kills, Stephanie Sikorski added 18 assists and five digs and Mikayla Baxter contributed 10 digs for the Falcons.
Rochester has a new coach in Lauren Duquette and with an inexperienced roster which features four sophomores, the Falcons are learning on the go playing a tough schedule.
In the OAA-Red alone, Lake Orion (No. 3) and three-time defending champ Clarkston (No. 4) are ranked, while Birmingham Seaholm is honorable mention in this week’s Class A rankings. The league is full of future college players.
“You can tell mentally that we are not mature enough like Lake Orion, to hang in a game like that,” offered Duquette. “We were up the entire first set and we get to the last five points and we can’t handle it. Lake Orion definitely could handle it.
QUIRKY CELEBRATION: Lake Orion's Angelica LeDonne does a little dance after a teammate scores a point against Rochester. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“I think the things we are normally poor at, we did very well,” continued Duquette. “Our serve receive is normally our weakest and we dug out a lot of balls. Defensively (on the block), we were so undisciplined. We didn’t really stand a chance against a talented team like that.”
Howey knows his team will see more competition in the upcoming weeks, including the Marian tournament this weekend and will try to keep his team focused on winning the league and then trying to make a run in the postseason in November.
“I think we are at where I thought we’d be at the start of the season,” offered Howey. “I knew with the talented group of seniors and all of the experience we have on this team that we’d be top 10.Overall, we are playing well. But we haven’t won anything yet either. We’ve been in five tournaments and we’ve won only one. We’re only halfway through our league and districts are more than a months away. We have a lot of work to do.”
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Oxford, Prep Wraps, Rochester
