GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Back from recess, Clarkston sweeps Lake Orion for 11th district title in 13 seasons
Wolves advance to regional finals for fourth time in six years
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LAKE ORION — After falling into a little bit of a lull during the final two weeks of the regular season, Clarkston’s girls volleyball program made quite a statement Friday that the Wolves are definitely back from recess.
Fifth-ranked Clarkston took just a little bit m ore than an hour to dispatch No. 4 Lake Orion with a swift 3-0 sweep of the host Dragons in a Class A district final. The Wolves rolled 25-22, 25-11, 25-14 to advance to next Tuesday’s regional semifinals against Troy.
It marks the third straight season that Clarkston (49-6-1) has ousted Lake Orion in the district tournament, while it also marked the fifth time in six seasons that the two have faced each other in the postseason.
Lake Orion edged Clarkston in the 2011 state semifinals, while Clarkston ousted Lake Orion in district play in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
“To be honest I didn’t expect this at all,” offered 13th-year Clarkston coach Kelly Pinner, whose squad captured their eight straight district title and 11th in 13 seasons.
“That was the last thing I expected,” continued Pinner of the sweep. “I thought it was going to be a hard-fought, five-game battle. Lake Orion has played us tough all year. I think we just had some kids come out fired up and we stayed on top the whole time. They gave us a great battle when we beat them for the league (last month). We were just on tonight, I guess.”
After reaching the state finals in 2011, the Dragons found the exit of the postseason for the third straight season in the districts — each time by the talented hands of Clarkston. This year’s departure was a major disappointment for a program that has spent most of the past five seasons ranked in the state’s top 10.
“We picked the wrong night to play our worst match of the year,” sighed first-year Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda. “Clarkston is a great team. Most of the points they scored were off our bad serve-receive plays, which has been the strong suit for us all year. Tonight it just totally left us.
“Clarkston raises their game when they play us and we don’t always do that,” continued Scavarda. “I don’t know what happened. We couldn’t get anything going. It was very disappointing.”
Lake Orion remained toe-to-toe with Clarkston for the first game, only to see the Wolves impose their will in the final two sets.
Taylor Dellinger slammed 18 kills to lead Clarkston. Abbey Malinowski added 10 kills, Emma Curd had five blocks and five kills, Emily Malinowski recorded 35 assists and Rachel Vieira had 14 digs for the Wolves, who last failed to get out of district play in the winter 2007 season.
“We know the history and we work so hard in practice to help us (win championships),” said Clarkston senior defensive specialist Emma Alexander. “We want to keep the Clarkston tradition going.”
Slipping past Lake Orion for the third straight season was the first step in Clarkston’s hopes of returning to the Final Four for the first time since 2011.
“We knew this was a huge hurdle for us,” noted Pinner, who took over Clarkston’s program for the winter 2002-03 season, when the Wolves won league and district championships. “There are a lot of great teams in the state. It is unfortunate we are in the same district because (Lake Orion) is a team could have gone very far this year. They are a very good team.
“But to be honest, I wasn’t thinking of anything beyond this week,” continued Pinner. “I don’t even have an idea who we might play in regionals. I haven’t research it.”
Clarkston’s regional semifinal match against Troy will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Troy Athens.
Koreen Varney registered 28 digs in defeat for Lake Orion, which set a school record with a stellar 59-11-2 record, the most wins in school history.
CLARKSTON DISTRICT TITLES UNDER COACH KELLY AVENALL-PINNER
2003-Winter: Lost in regional semifinals to Mason (2-0)
2004-Winter: Lost in regional semifinals to Okemos (2-1)
2005-Winter: Lost in regional finals to East Lansing (3-2)
2006-Winter: None
2007-Winter: None
2007-Fall: Lost in regional finals to Birmingham Marian (3-0)
2008-Fall: Lost regional semifinals to Troy (3-1)
2009-Fall: Lost in regional semifinals to Birmingham Marian (3-0)
2010-Fall: Lost in state quarterfinals to Farmington Hills Mercy (3-1)
2011-Fall: Lost in state semifinals to Lake Orion (3-1)
2012-Fall: Lost in regional finals to Birmingham Seaholm (3-0)
2013-Fall: Lost in regional finals to Birmingham Marian (3-1)
2014-Fall: Still alive, defeated Lake Orion in district finals. (3-0).
Category: Clarkston, Featured Articles, High School, Lake Orion, Most Recently Updated Stories, Prep Wraps, Sport, Top Stories, Uncategorized, Volleyball
