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GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Oxford sweeps Troy

Dan Stickradt | October 11, 2013 | Comments (0)

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BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

OXFORD — As Oxford remains in the OAA Red Division league title chase, the Wildcats have learned plenty about themselves each time out on the floor.

One lesson they learned Thursday night is that they can still prevail even without their best effort.

Oxford swept visiting Troy 25-19, 25-13 and 25-22 to remain in a three-way tie for first place with state powers Clarkston and Lake Orion, even though there were some struggles at times on the floor against the youthful Colts.

“I honestly don’t think we played all that great, but we still won,” admitted Oxford coach Kristi McDevitt. “I thought our passing was off the whole night and we allowed Troy to stay in there. But when we needed it, we always had someone step up and provide a (key) play. That’s the way it’s been all year for us.”

Oxford, which moved to 18-10-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play — the Wildcats are trying to win their first OAA-Red title in just their third season in the conference’s top tier — led for a majority of all three sets against Troy. Each time the Colts threatened, it was the play of Darien Bandel, Julia Walker and Kennedy Orr that seemed to reignite the more experienced Wildcats.

Bandel, a fourth-year starter headed for Oakland University, slammed 12 kills to lead Oxford. Walker added nine kills, while Orr chipped in 17 kill-assists and five kills of her own for the Wildcats.

Troy, which suffered mass losses to graduation, plus lost star player Olivia Parks for the season due to a knee injury, slipped to 5-21-3 overall and 0-3 in league play.

“I think at the beginning of the season, we could use the being young card and the fact we lost Olivia Parks, but now we are halfway through the season and these girls have played in a lot of varsity games together,” said second-year Troy coach Vince Mussat. “The fact of the matter is that we are just too inconsistent. We have talented players, but we did not play that well tonight. We play a lot of very good teams and we have talent. We just need to start playing more consistent.”

In Game 1, Troy closed to within 23-18 before Oxford finished off the Colts with a pair of kills by Bandel.

The second set saw Oxford grab a 6-4 lead before two kills by Orr and pair of service points from Maddie Maier help the wildcats go on a 7-2 run to take control 13-6. The Colts never really threatened for the rest of the second game.

The third and final game saw Troy keep within striking distance the whole set, never trailing by more than eight points. The Colts slowly eight away at the gap and pulled within 24-22 late, only to see Jordan Romine end the match for Oxford with a kill.

“Our goal is to compete for the league this year. We know we can do it,” said Bandel, one of the state’s better seniors. “We have a very good senior class and we’re all very close. We knew we could win this game. We have the confidence that we can compete with just about anybody. We always have girls step up.”

With Lake Orion standing in the path next Thursday and defending league champ Clarkston up in two weeks, the Wildcats know a better overall effort will be needed against the league’s top programs.

“I think we can play better, I’ve seen us play better, and I know that the girls will be ready when we play those teams,” said McDevitt.”We were ready for Bloomfield Hills and (Birmingham) Seaholm. We might have been a little off tonight, but in tournaments we have proven we can play with a lot of very good teams.”

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Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.