Lake Orion sweeps Oxford to set up showdown with Clarkston
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
LAKE ORION — With a showdown looming with Clarkston next week, Lake Orion made sure there was no major hiccup on the schedule like last year, when the Dragons went on a mini tailspin during October.
Lake Orion, ranked third in Class A, swept rival Oxford 3-0 at home in a key OAA Red Division volleyball match. The Dragons posted wins of 25-18, 25-17, 25-16 over the Wildcats.
Lake Orion will now host sixth-ranked Clarkston, the three-time division champions, next Tuesday before hosting North Farmington on Thursday in the final league match. A pair of wins will give Lake Orion its first OAA-Red title in the 17-year history of the OAA.
DELIVERING THE KILL: Lake Orion's Shannon Murdock skies above the net to bring down this point during the Dragons' 3-0 sweep Thursday of Oxford. Photo By Kirk Bearse, www.catsdenphoto.com
“Last year we went through a tough part in October where we didn’t play very well and it cost us a (top-four) finish in the league,” said Lake Orion coach Bob Howey. “We are trying to avoid that. I think with Clarkston coming in here next week … that will be huge. That is plenty of incentive for us. That is what I expected at the beginning of the year.”
As it has most of the season, Lake Orion uses its depth and athleticism to wear down opponents. Oxford was the latest victim.
Shannon Murdock had 1o kills, five digs and 10 service points and Angelica LeDonne provided seven kills and three blocks for Lake Orion. Maddie Hutchinson had 14 digs, 14 serve receptions and a 2.6 rating on serve receive, while Sophomore Murdock (six kills, four blocks), Taylor Hargraves (six kills), Gwen Motley (23 assists), Dana Schrauben (13 assists) and Liz Kalugar (six kills, six digs, five service points) aided the Dragons’ balanced attack.
HERE'S THE SCOOP: Lake Orion's Maddie Hutchinsondives for this dig during Thursday's OAA Red Division match. Photo By Kirk Bearse, www.catsdenphoto.
“We do have a lot of depth, which I think has helped us all season,” noted Howey.
The Wildcats needed to play a perfect game to upset the senior-laden Dragons. Oxford hung tough against Lake Orion during the first two games before running out of steam in the third set.
Lake Orion used an 8-2 run to open up a 23-11 advantage in Game 3 and never allowed Oxford to get any closer than seven points the rest of the way.
SKY HIGH: Oxford sophomore Darien Bandel led the Wildcats with eight kills in a loss ot Lake Orion. Photo By Kirk Bearse, www.catsdenphoto.com
“We didn’t play great. We just did what we had to do to win,” said Howey. “We’re going to have to play better (against Clarkston). I think the girls know that. We have been going hard at it since August. We’ll fix some things this Saturday at a tournament.”
In Game 1, Oxford rallied to tie the set at 18-18 and closed to within 20-17 in Game 2. Each time, the Wildcats could not collect enough momentum to overtake the Dragons (35-8-2, 6-0).
Sophomore Darien Bandel led Oxford (22-16-1) with eight kills and 14 digs, but trailed off in the third game.
“I’m not unhappy with the first part of the games. We just need to learn how to stick it out. We were always chasing,” said Oxford coach Kristi McDevitt. “We made some runs and then we make a mistake and blow it out of bounds. We didn’t capitalize on their mistakes either.
“I just told the girls to store this feeling. This is the team that we’re seeing the first round of districts,” concluded McDevitt.
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com . Follow us on Twitter @LocalSportsFans and more than a dozen other social media networks.
Category: Clarkston, High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Oxford, Prep Wraps
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/LocalSportsFans
FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=590590972#!/pages/wwwnorthoaklandsportscom-Stickradt-Media-Group/143149785699685
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/173434259249
MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/538458008
DIGG: http://digg.com/NorthOaklandSports
MIXX: http://www.mixx.com/your_mixx
STUMBLE UPON: http://www.stumbleupon.com/favorites
LINKEDIN:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3225964
http://www.linkedin.com/in/danielstickradt
GOOGLE BUZZ: https://profiles.google.com/104737348129828661071/posts/Nu5anin9mnc#104737348129828661071/plusones/edit/d
BLOGGER: http://www.blogger.com/profile/11724138713158842128
ZANGA: http://northoakland.xanga.com/
REDDIT: http://www.reddit.com/user/NorthOaklandSports/
NEWSVINE:http://northoaklandsports.newsvine.com/
DELICIOUS: http://www.delicious.com/NorthOaklandSports
HI-5: http://www.hi5.com/friend/profile/displayProfile.do;jsessionid=CEE7597CE6B68D3872A14548813AC380?userid=605488982
BEBO: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=10956419869
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/LocalSportsFans
FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=590590972#!/pages/wwwnorthoaklandsportscom-Stickradt-Media-Group/143149785699685
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/173434259249
MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/538458008
DIGG: http://digg.com/NorthOaklandSports
MIXX: http://www.mixx.com/your_mixx
STUMBLE UPON: http://www.stumbleupon.com/favorites
LINKEDIN:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3225964
http://www.linkedin.com/in/danielstickradt
GOOGLE BUZZ: https://profiles.google.com/104737348129828661071/posts/Nu5anin9mnc#104737348129828661071/plusones/edit/d
BLOGGER: http://www.blogger.com/profile/11724138713158842128
ZANGA: http://northoakland.xanga.com/
REDDIT: http://www.reddit.com/user/NorthOaklandSports/
NEWSVINE:http://northoaklandsports.newsvine.com/
DELICIOUS: http://www.delicious.com/NorthOaklandSports
HI-5: http://www.hi5.com/friend/profile/displayProfile.do;jsessionid=CEE7597CE6B68D3872A14548813AC380?userid=605488982
BEBO: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=10956419869
…..
REPORTING SCORES
Varsity coaches are urged to report varsity results in a timely fashion by e-mail to senior editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or results@northoaklandsports.com, or by calling the sports nightline recording at (248) 812-1053.
Deadlines are normally midnight each day.
High schools and colleges in the NorthOaklandSports coverage region include Auburn Hills Avondale, Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Auburn Hills Christian Academy, Clarkston, Clarkston Everest Collegiate, Clarkston Springfield Christian, Holly, Lake Orion, Lake Orion Baptist, Lake Orion Shalom Baptist, Ortonville Brandon, Oxford, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, Troy, Troy Athens, Troy Bethany Christian, Troy Christian Leadership Academy, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, plus Rochester College, Oakland University and Oakland Community College.
The NOS sports desk will also publish information on club, youth and recreation teams with local or regional interest.
PHOTOS: Have courtesy action photos that who wish to contribute? Please feel free to e-mail photos in a color j-peg format to senior editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com .Please include all pertinent information, including photographer, link back to web site, date, location and competing schools or teams in the photos and the identification of each athlete in each photo.
VIDEO: Have courtesy action videos or interview videos that who wish to contribute? Please feel free to e-mail the embed codes for video or web-link to senior editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. Please include all pertinent information, including videographer, link back to web site, date, location, competing schools or teams in the video and the identification of each athlete in the video.
INTERNSHIPS / STUDENT WRITERS: High School and college internships are available. Contact marketing director Dennis VanWingerden at dennis@northoaklandsports.com or Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com.