Spikers marked their journey to the OAA Red battle against Lake Orion with one win and two losses to their rivals.
But after five sets on Oct. 18 in the Lady Dragons’ lair, the journey ended. Clarkston won, 3-2, taking the league title for the fifth consecutive year.
“Lake Orion was predicted to win the league so it was a passion packed evening,” said Coach Kelly Avenall. “The fifth game they made a few errors we capitalized on and built the momentum.”
The Lady Wolves won the first two sets 26-24 and 25-23 and Lake Orion won the next two 25-21 and 25-18. The fifth set put players and fans on the edge of the seats until Clarkston won 15-10.
“Their hitter got hot and we lost,” said Avenall. “Winning the fifth was a good testimonial of my girls composure. They didn’t give up and they didn’t let down.”
Junior Sarah Bullen scored key points during the last set when Lake Orion went to shut down Clarkston’s leading attacker, senior Stephanie Marani.
“We started setting Sarah to try to mix it up a little bit,” added Avenall. “Sarah pulled through for us. She has really improved the last few weeks.”
Bullen had nine kills – her season high.
Junior Rachel Dickerson had 22 kills and 19 digs during the game. Junior Kaley Konjarevich had 11kills, 31 digs and two aces and senior Maddie Lightfoot had 25 digs.
The Lady Wolves hosted a quad meet last Thursday and went 3-0 for the night, beating Rochester Adams (25-11, 25-15), Farmington (25-16, 25-17), and Birmingham Seaholm (25-22, 25-22), putting them 43-5 for an overall record.
Marani had 14 kills and six blocks, Dickerson had 17 kills and 26 digs and Lightfoot had 41 digs and three aces.
The Lady Wolves head to the Andover Tournament on Saturday and come back home on Monday night for the first round of MHSAA Districts against Holly.
“We played them at a tournament earlier in the season,” said Avenall. “I am sure they have improved. Our goal is always to win districts and get to the next round. We will take it one game at a time. Fenton and Grand Blanc are going to be strong.”
Getting a win over Lake Orion will help boost their momentum as they go into playoffs.
“When we are up against the ropes, we can persevere past it,” Avenall added.
Clarkston plays on Monday at 5:30 p.m.