GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Lake Orion sweeps Stoney Creek for first regional title since 2011
BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LAKE ORION — Revenge can be sweet. Especially when it comes in the state tournament.
After falling to Rochester Stoney Creek in an OAA Red Division showdown one month ago, Lake Orion gained its measure of revenge on the Cougars with a 3-0 sweep in the Division 1 regional finals Thursday night at Lake Orion High School.
The second-ranked Dragons prevailed behind a 25-18, 25-16, 31-29 triumph to win their first regional title since 2011 and third overall, the other coming back in 1988.
Lake Orion (65-6-0) advances to the state quarterfinals next Tuesday and will face Flushing, honorable mention in the polls, at Fenton High School.
The 10-seniors strong Dragons have come on strong in recent weeks, especially since the loss to Stoney Creek in early October.
“We made some adjustments. We moved some people around to try to slow them down in the middle,” said Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda. “I thought we did a great job slowing them down.”
The third set had multiple lead changes. Stoney Creek held a 24-21 advantage only to see Lake Orion go on a 4-0 run, capped by a block-kill from Olivia Long, to tie it at 25-25. The pendulum swung back and fourth until Lake Orion finished the match off with a kill by senior Paige Briggs.
“I would say the energy (made a difference),” said senior setter Wren Macaulay. “At that point, we kind of shifted gears and we knew it was fight time. We knew if we could finish this set, it would be a nice, clean sweep and if we didn’t finish the set, it would be a little harder with them battling back. We just really wanted to grind it out and finish and we just pushed with the energy.”
Lake Orion is now back in the Elite Eight and one win shy of a Final Four berth.
“It’s so exciting. We have worked so hard for this,” smiled Briggs. “It’s been our goal all along.”
The Western Kentucky-bound Briggs led a balanced effort with 15 kills, while Macaulay, another D-I recruit headed for New Hampshire, served up a pair of aces and contributed 36 assists. Sydney Smith added 12 kills, Ciara Livingway had 21 digs, and Long had four blocks and four kills for Lake Orion.
Nina Bilotto had six kills and Kate Stration had four kills and to aces for Stoney Creek. Ainsley Guse supplied four kills and seven blocks for the Cougars.
Stoney Creek (43-7-2) reached the regional finals for the first time in its 16-year history, but couldn’t not cool the red hot Dragons, who are healthy and firing on all cylinders.
“That’s one good volleyball team,” sighed Stoney Creek coach Ross Talbott. “They are ranked No. 2 in the state for a reason. They were really playing well tonight. We brought it, too, but they are playing so well.”
Stoney Creek captured its second straight OAA Red Division title and advanced further than any other team in program history.
“We have five seniors, two of them have been on varsity for three years and one of them has been on varsity for four years, they set the tone for this program,” added Talbott. “That’s the No. 2 team in the state, there’s not a team better than them besides (top-ranked Farmington Hills) Mercy, so to be able to beat them in the OAA here, I knew they would be hungry for us but the tone in this program, the Cougars program, has come a long way and we’re here to stay.”
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