Split decision: Oxford divides up, still claims invite title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
OXFORD — To fill a spot for an eighth team, Kristi McDevitt had to split up her Oxford volleyball program into two squads Saturday for the Oxford Invitational.
The Wildcats still rose to the top in the end to win the title.
Oxford’s ‘A’ team finished the day with a 6-2-1 record to win the tournament championship,
The Wildcats (22-14-1) defeated Marlette (25-5, 25-18), Warren Regina (25-13, 25-14), Lapeer East (25-13, 25-17) and Capac (25-16, 25-17), split with Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (25-20, 11-25) and dropped a two-game decision to Utica Ford II (25-17, 25-14) during round-robin play before winning two games in the playoffs for the overall title.
“It was a strange situation, but we needed an eighth team so I took my 15 girls and split them up and I brought up two JV players to kind of balance it out,” explained McDevitt. “As it turned out, we won the tournament with one of our teams. We got a chance to play (17) girls the whole day and it turned out to work great for us. It could’ve been a bad situation but it worked out great.
CAN I TAKE YOUN HIGHER? Oxford's Darien Bandel leaps high to deliver this kill.Bandel and the Wildcats won Saturday's Oxford Invitational. File Photo | Kirk Bearse, www.catsdenphoto.com
In the playoff round, the Wildcats stymied Notre Dame Prep 22-25, 25-13, 16-14 to advance to the finals. Oxford’s ‘A’ team went on to avenge Utica Ford 25-23, 21-25, 15-13 to claim the title.
Katie Bearse led Oxford on the day with 73 kills. Lindsay Leppek added 45 kills and Darrien Bandel added 70 kills and 81 digs.
“We have never beaten Notre Dame Prep since I’ve been here. Betty Wroubel does such a great job with that program,” said McDevitt. “Once we beat them, we came back and avenged Utica Ford. I didn’t think we played very well against them the first time.
“I think having Darrein Bendel stepped up the second half of the day really helped,” continued McDevitt. “When she is on, she’s a very good player. I think she sometimes can scare the other teams when she hits the ball. She’s can be intimidating. But she’s still young, only a sophomore. She is still inconsistent.”
Oxford will play Farmington Tuesday and Lake Orion Thursday in OAA Red Division play.
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Oxford, Prep Wraps
