GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Lake Orion enacts district revenge on Clarkston
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
WATERFORD — Over the past decade-plus, Clarkston has held an upper hand on Lake Orion when it comes to district success and championships.
In fact, the only time in recent memory that Lake Orion did not lose to Clarkston in a district contest was when the two were placed in separate districts.
The two landed in the same district for the fourth straight season. This time around it was Lake Orion which had the last laugh, as the fourth-ranked Dragons ousted the Wolves, 3-0, in a Class A pre-district at Waterford Kettering.
Lake Orion edged Clarkston 25-23 and 25-22 in the first two games, then built a large advantage in the clinching third game before settling for a 25-16 triumph to oust the Wolves.
“We lost in the district finals to them last year. I know the girls remembered,” said Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda. “In terms of finally beating them in districts, it means the world. I can’t tell you how proud I am of these girls (to finally beat them).”
It marked the earliest state tournament exit for Clarkston since before current coach Kelly Pinner took over the helm in 2003. The Wolves had won eight straight OAA Red Division league titles and eight straight district championships, only to see both streaks come to an end this season.
Clarkston had defeated Lake Orion in the district finals last year and the district semifinals in 2012 and 2013. Both teams competed in separate districts in 2011 with both sides reaching the Final Four in Battle Creek that season.
A couple of errors late in Game 1 and Game 2 shifted momentum to Lake Orion’s favor. In Game 3, the Dragons (59-6-1) rolled out to a 21-9 lead before finishing off the Wolves (32-16-1).
“Our youth was exposed all year,” sighed Pinner. “We had it in us, but we get to 20 (points) and then we hurt ourselves (with an error). We still had four amazing seniors and the leadership was great. But overall we had a young team and we saw that in some of our big matches this year. The same as tonight. We made mistakes at crucial times.”
Not playing in a district final or deeper in the tournament took some pressure off the Dragons and they stepped up on the opening night of the postseason.
“In the past history against Clarkston, we’ve really felt the pressure in these types of games, and since it wasn’t the final, I thought it might help us to play looser, and just relax,” said Scavarda. “I thought we played somewhat relaxed tonight and it showed.”
Courtney Wightman, an All-State transfer who returned to the lineup after a three-week absence, notched 16 kills to pace the Dragons, who tied a school record for wins in a season. Natalie Wehner added 12 kills, Wies Hurkmans had seven kills with three blocks, Koreen Varney had 30 digs, Leah Kalugar chipped in with 24 assists and Wren Macaulay had 19 assists for Lake Orion, which will face Pontiac in the district semifinal Wednesday at Kettering.
Abbey Malinowski had 10 kills, Emma Curd recorded six blocks and Maggie Collins had nine kills for Clarkston.
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