Improve record to 2-0 in OAA Red

By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

Lake Orion High School’s varsity volleyball team held their home and league opener last week taking down the Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks 3-1 on Sept. 21 and then hosting Troy Athens on Sept. 23 destroying the Red Hawks 3-0, to bring the Dragons record to 2-0 in the OAA Red division.

Despite the early led on the Black Hawks in the first two sets (25-11 and 25-21), the Dragons quickly started to lose momentum as Bloomfield Hills picked up the pace to flip the score on Lake Orion and take the third set 25-21. Both teams played to win in the fourth and final set, with the Dragons and Black Hawks going point-for-point for a majority of the set before the Lake Orion ladies finally put it away with a close 28-26 victory.

“I want them just to get better and peak at the right time and after tonight we have a lot where we can actually get better,” said head coach Tony Scavarda who added that so far, the season has been slightly up and down for the team this year. “It’s been a rollercoaster so far. We haven’t found that consistency that we’re looking for yet that’s going to get us to the top of the league and certainly post-season play success so we have to work a little bit harder and figure out how we can get that done.”

Some game highlights include impressive individual performances by senior Lauren Peters who had nine aces, 14 kills and 16 digs, junior Nina Horning also with 14 kills and senior Jaina Macaulay with 26 assists and 14 digs.

A positive note for the Dragons came just days later with a decisive win for Lake Orion against the Troy Athens Red Hawks taking all three sets by an overwhelming difference (25-9, 25-5 and 25-14).

The ladies were lead in kills by Horning with nine while Macaulay led the team with 13 assists.

As always, the team’s goal this season is to win the league and make a run at the state championship, something Scavarda not only hopes to achieve but expects.

“I expect to be a lot better by then,” Scavarda said. “We have a little bit of a more favorable district than we have in the past. Clarkston’s in a different district so hopefully we can take advantage of that.”

Lake Orion traditionally has a very good volleyball team, having made several runs at the state championship in the past and winning in 2018.

With ten returning seniors, this year’s varsity squad is hoping to make up for some of the depth lost to graduation from last year’s team which went 4-3 in the OAA Red.

“We have ten seniors on the team now but a lot of them are in positions where they haven’t had to really contribute before. They’ve been on the team and played but they haven’t had a lot of court time,” Scavarda said. “Some people are finding themselves in roles that are a lot more than what they were used to last year.”

Captains this year include seniors and three-year varsity players Jaina Macaulay and Malinda Brunk.

The ladies take on rivals Clarkston High School on Tuesday after Review press time. The Wolves currently sit at the top of the OAA Red division with four wins and no losses in the league.

“It’s going to be a tough one, we’re looking forward to it though,” said Scavarda who noted that Clarkston is one of the top teams in the state again this year.