Hammering home its point: Rockford overpowers Lake Orion to win Class A state title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
BATTLE CREEK — With a deep well of hitters, Rockford has proved to be too much to overcome for many opponents this season. The Rams again proved that on the prep volleyball season’s final day.
Rockford made it win No. 60 on the season and it came on the big stage, as the second-ranked Rams overpowered Lake Orion, 3-0, in the Class A girls volleyball title match at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
Rockford (60-9-0) posted scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-10 to win its first-ever state title, also in its first-ever trip to the Final Four. The Rams collected 49 kills, 22 more than Lake Orion and finished 98-for-114 attacking overall in dousing the Dragons, who had defeated three top-10 teams the past two weeks in gaining their first-ever title game berth.
“Lake Orion is a fantastic team and we knew it was going to be a battle,” said Rockford coach Kelly Delacher. “We knew being down in that second game, that was a big momentum changer for us. It really propelled us to the victory.”
“Once we got rolling we started to play with a lot of confidence. We had them frustrated offensively,” added Delacher. “We served them great and we put them in position to do things that made them uncomfortable.”
DOUSED: Lake Orion'sSophie Murdock (background) is hugged by teammate EmilieKipp(No. 14) following the Dragons' 3-0 loss to Rockford in Saturday's Class A state championship game. Photo | Larry McKee, wwwlmckeephotography.com
Rockford outlasted Lake Orion in a tight Game 1 to take command. The Dragons led 22-19 and 23-22 in Game 2 with the ball. Rockford closed with a 3-0 run to take control.
“Losing the second set really hurt,” said Lake Orion coach Bob Howey. “That happens sometimes and that’s hard (to overcome). I was telling (my team) that was the best performance by a high school team, including (Birmingham) Marian’s championship teams. That team was on fire. Their offense was faster than we expected. We had a hard time making some adjustments.”
In the third set, Rockford has Lake Orion (54-13-3) on its heels the whole time, repeatedly finding seems in the Dragons’ defense and putting the ball on the floor.
Jessica Majerle was one of four Rams to record double digits with kills, slamming 14 to the floor on a 34-for-38 attacking performance. Heyer added 11 kills and both Andrea Kacsits and Avery Punches had 10 kills apiece. Heyer added 15 digs, Sidney Rodriguez had 14 digs and Halle Peterson picked up 36 assists.
“To do those we had to have a lot of talent and everything had to go the right way,” said Delacher. “What a special group of girls, a great group of seniors. When I first saw them as seventh and eighth graders, I knew it was going to be a special class.”
The Rams held a 5-3 lead before going on a 11-2 run to post a 16-5 advantage. That lead quickly grew to 22-9 and Rockford could smell blood by that point. A block-kill from Murphy Heyer clinched the top spot on the charts for the Rams.
THE SET UP: Lake Orion's Dan Schrauben pushed the ball up for a teammate's attack during Saturday's Class A state championship game against Rockford. Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
Shannon Murdock was handful with 13 kills and was 28-for-32 attacking for the Dragons, but no other teammate could muster more than four kills against the Rams. Dana Schrauben had 12 assists and Gwen Motley added 10 for the Dragons. Maddie Hutchinson scooped up 15 digs.
“We made it to the final day. That’s something to be a proud of. No team from our league has been able to that,” said Howey, whose team hails from the Oakland Activities Association and became the first state finalist from the conference, which was formed in 1994. “We had a great group of girls. We set the bar.”
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Category: Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Prep Wraps
