By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
LAKE ORION — Lake Orion High School’s varsity volleyball team started league play last week, facing off against two OAA Red competitors, falling to the Troy Colts 3-1 on Tuesday and sweeping the Stoney Creek Cougars 3-0 on Thursday.
The ladies headed to Troy High School on Sept. 19 but had a slow start, losing 25-21 in the first set. The Dragons made a comeback in the second set winning 26-24 a narrow victory to tie it up. Lake Orion held on but was unable to secure wins in the third and fourth sets, losing 27-25 and 25-23, respectively.
“The way we played Tuesday night was not representative of what we’ve been able to play like this season, for the most part. I was hoping that that would be kind of a blip on the radar,” said head coach Tony Scavarda.
Despite the loss, several players put up strong numbers during the match with senior captain Devin Brunk contributing 28 kills and freshman Izzy Lawhorn adding 11. Senior captain Sydney Bell also had 21 digs, followed by junior Addison Dukas with 17 digs.
This was the team’s first OAA Red match and first league loss of the season.
On Thursday, the Dragons were hungry for an OAA Red victory, hosting Stoney Creek at the Lake Orion Field House.
Lake Orion made quick work of the first two sets, shutting the Cougars down 25-15 and 25-12, respectively.
The third set was a bit closer, with the Cougars capitalizing on several back-to-back scoring opportunities to put them up, if only briefly, midway through the set. The Dragons pulled it together, defeating Stoney Creek 25-22 in the third and final set.
After a hard loss on Tuesday, Scavarda still had faith that his team could defeat the Cougars in straight sets and was happy to see it happen.
“Those first two sets, I think they play better volleyball generally than that so I was expecting it to be a little closer,” Scavarda said. “The first two sets, we definitely did that. The third set we got a little sloppy but still were able to finish it in the end so I was happy about that.”
Highlights include Brunk with 13 kills and 13 digs as well as Bell with 10 digs.
Brunk, as is reflective in her stats, is the team’s lead and go-to hitter this season.
“We don’t have a whole lot of returning hitter starters so she’s one that we have to look for to be pretty consistent. If she plays like she did tonight and hits the ball like that then we should be pretty tough,” Scavarda said.
Brunk has some help on the right side with newcomer Izzy Lawhorn who has helped bring balance to the team.
“I think when we’re playing well, we’re pretty well balanced. We have a freshman right side hitter that’s been a nice surprise and been able to contribute a lot for us. Lawhorn, and normally both outsides, do pretty well and score points for us. So, I think, unlike last year, when we had to rely on one player predominantly, this year, I think as long as we pass the ball well we have a lot of hitters that can score this year,” said Scavarda.
With two OAA Red matchups under their belts and a 1-1 record, Scavarda hopes the team can sweep the rest of the Red and give the Dragons a chance at winning the division. While the Red division is the toughest league, Scavarda does feel Lake Orion has the potential to do exceedingly well, despite the loss to Troy and despite Clarkston’s daunting presence.
“I think Clarkston should be the team to beat in the Red this year with the talent they have. But, I think every other team on any given night could win against each other, so I think it’s going to be pretty close,” Scavarda said. “The goal right now is to just win out the rest of the OAA, since we lost the first match. If we win out and we upset Clarkston we still can win the OAA. So, our goal is to win the OAA and then we can start talking about the district playoffs.”
The ladies hit the road on Tuesday, after Review press time, for their third OAA Red match of the season against the Rochester High School Falcons.