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GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Romeo outlasts Lake Orion in five-game whirlwind thriller

| November 11, 2015 | Comments (0)

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

ROMEO — Lake Orion knew the eye of the storm was coming. The Dragons found out just what it feels like to be in the path of the tornado.

The funnel cloud came in the shape of Romeo’s Gia Milana.

The 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter recorded a match-high 40 kills Tuesday evening and it was her whirlwind play in the Bulldogs’ comeback that kept the defending Class A state champions postseason alive.

Milana scored four of her team’s final five points, including back-to-back kills to end the match. She recorded 12 kills in the fifth and final game to help lead sixth-ranked Romeo to a 3-2 victory over fourth-ranked Lake Orion in a Class A regional semifinal at Romeo High School’s packed house.

Romeo recorded a 25-22, 14-25, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14 triumph over Lake Orion, which defeated the Bulldogs (47-7-1) three times in tournaments during the regular season.

“I knew they were going to me. I just had to keep my composure and come through and play my best for my team,” said Milana, the frontrunner for the 2015 Miss Volleyball award who will sign with Maryland later this week. “We found a way to do it.”

Lake Orion built a 12-8 lead in Game 5 and even had Romeo on the brink of elimination with a 14-13 advantage after Milana hit the ball out-of-bounds on a failed kill attempt.

Romeo, which had not defeated Lake Orion during the past four seasons, got the ball back on a service error to knot the score at 14-14, then finished off Lake Orion’s season with Milana’s kills.

“Wow,” sighed Romeo coach Stacy Williams. “What a comeback. Everyone knew we were going to try to get the vll to Gia and she played like an All-American that she is. We’ve gone to her all season and she delivered.”

Courtney Wightman had 19 kills and six blocks to lead Lake Orion (61-7-0).

Wightman and senior Natalie Wehner were near lethal in the Dragons winning Game 2 and Game 3 and building the late advantage in the fifth set. Lake Orion was a play away from advancing to the next round before being blown over by a Gia-force wind.

“We knew they were going to her. She’s the No. 1 player in the state and we couldn’t stop her,” said Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda. “We were one play away from winning this match. Our girls gave a great effort.”

Wehner addd 14 kills, Wies Hurkmans added 13 kills, Leah Kalugar chipped in with 10 kills and four aces and Koreen Varney had 22 digs for the Dragons.

Milana added 13 digs, seven blocks and three aces for Romeo. Jodie Kelly added 10 kills, 12 digs and five blocks, Breanna Olley added 46 assists, 13 digs and six blocks, and Erica LaBaere chipped in with eight blocks for the Bulldogs.

“There were times she I thought it was getting away from us. You could see it that they started not to believe,” said Williams. “But we dug deep and found a way to win. It could have easily went the other way.”

Romeo will face Utica Eisenhower at 7 p.m. Thursday in the regional finals. Eisenhower outlasted Fenton, 3-2, in the first semifinal.volleyball - spike 1

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About Dan Stickradt: DAN STICKRADT | SENIOR EDITOR dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com View author profile.

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