Troy punches in, punches out Southfield to advance to regional finals
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
LAKE ORION — After suffering a first-round exit from last year’s postseason, Troy was eager to return to the spot of being one of Oakland County’s top volleyball teams this season, a position the Colts had enjoyed for many seasons in the past decade.
The Colts have opted to stick around for a while this postseason and in their latest postseason match, punched in, went to work, punched out and went home.
STUFFED: Troy's Marcella Sanabria blocks this kill attempt during Tuesday's Class A regional semifinal with Southfield. Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
Troy wasted little time with Southfield Tuesday in a Class A regional semifinals, posting a 3-0 sweep of the Bluejays. The Colts posted 25-16, 25-12, 25-16 victories to become a member of the Sweet 16 in Class A and will play for the regional championship Thursday at 7 p.m. against seventh-ranked Lake Orion, which turned away two-time defending state champion Birmingham Marian in the second semifinal.
The Colts (28-14-0) never trailed the whole night and slowly pulled away from the pesky Bluejays. Southfield tied the third game at 3-3 but provided little resistance
“I think we just have more volleyball athletes,” said Troy coach Ed Ruhl, whose team only won 16 total matches last season. “I don’t necessarily think that our hitters really played better, but our girls did a good job of getting the ball in and scoring when they were serving.”
Troy, which swept Southfield for the second time this season, had a chance to rotate in all 15 players. That will not be the case Thursday against host Lake Orion.
“I told the girls that they’re really going to have to step up in this next one,” laughed Ruhl. “We’re going to have to bring a different intensity level. (Lake Orion is) really good.
“We still don’t have a starting lineup, and I’m probably not going to figure it out until tomorrow,” continued Ruhl. “We’re going to roll with who’s hot. That’s what we have been doing.”
Southfield, which was making its third appearance in the regional round in six seasons, graduated most of its team from last season.
Michelle Stuecheli had nine kills for Troy. Jade Ware had seven kills for Southfield.
“I’m a little disappointed,” offered Southfield coach Dana Cooper. “I didn’t think that we came with our ‘A’ game, tonight. They had some (frontcourt) size on us, but I always tell my girls that it’s not a matter of being outmatched. They played better offensively and defensively than us and that was the difference.
“We only brought back one or two players (from last season) at the most, but that’s not an excuse,” added Copper. “They just played better than we did tonight. I’m very proud of our girls. We set our sights on a district championship pretty early and we came away with that.”
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Category: High School, Prep Wraps, Troy
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