GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Lake Orion opens tourney with swift sweep of Waterford Kettering
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
HOLLY — Coming off back to back trips to the Class A/Division 1 Final Four, including the 2018 state championship, Lake Orion took the first step in that same direction Monday night as the state tournament kicked off across the state.
The Dragons, honorable mention in the polls, cut down Waterford Kettering, 3-0, in a Division 1 pre-district at Holly High School. Lake Orion prevailed in a swift 25-12, 25-8, and 26-16 sweep of the Captains in a match that lasted only an hour.
Sophomore Nia Horning, a 6-foot-4 middle hitter, led the Dragons with seven kills while senior Kendall Robertson added six kills for Lake Orion’s balanced attack. Senior Jaina McCauley served up seven aces.
“We have a front line that can match up with anybody,” offered Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda. “It’s when we serve well or have that first touch on serve receive that if we are doing a good job there we’re tough to beat. When we serve well we can force some errors. Kettering had a hard time getting the ball back over the net. I thought our serving was very good tonight.”
Lake Orion never really trailed Kettering and opened up substantial advantages in each game. The Dragons rotated in a lot of players
“We had a ton of aces tonight — one of our best serving games,” said Scavarda.
Lake Orion will tangle with OAA Red Division rival Oxford in the semifinals Wednesday at Holly at 5 p.m. Flint Metro League Stripes Division champion Holly will face OAA-Red champ Clarkston at 7 p.m.
“It is one of the better ones (districts) in the state — it’s tough,” said Scavarda. “Our x-factor is our serve receive. When it’s solid, we have a very strong front row and that takes a lot of pressure off. We’ll need to be playing well (on both ends) against Oxford.”
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