Even after an 0-5 start, Clarkston volleyball Coach Kelly Avenall never doubted her team’s chances. Now the Wolves are proving her right with a resiliency absent earlier in the season that captured the district title on Feb. 26. Clarkston finished 21-17-2 on the year; this is the Wolves third district title in as many years.
Clarkston easily dispatched Waterford Kettering and Swartz Creek, 3-0, in the opening rounds of the district tournament held at Holly High School. A finals pairing with Fenton proved more of a challenge as the Wolves won the first game 25-13 only to drop the next two 15-25 and 22-25.
‘We were struggling there for a minute against Fenton, but we never gave up in the match. We’ve gotten better at not hanging our heads when we get down in games,? said Avenall. ‘When we call time-outs and we are down two points, (the team) is talking about not giving up.?
After falling behind in the fourth game, the Wolves rallied for a 25-22 victory. In the decisive fifth game, Clarkston never trailed as they put away Fenton 15-8.
Over the course of the day’s action, senior Stephanie Parkin recorded 12 aces and 35 kills for the Wolves. Senior Stephanie Betzing had 10 blocks and senior Kim Vincent came through with 35 digs.
‘We’ve spent a lot of time working on serve reception and passing,? said Avenall. ‘Some of our hitters are struggling now? we’ll have to address that in practice this week.?
Clarkston has the week off to prepare for the regional tournament on March 5 at Lansing Eastern.
Currently, the Wolves are matched up against Battle Creek Northern in the first round of play. In a head-to-head match up with Battle Creek earlier this year, Clarkston won the first game, but dropped the next two of the match.
‘I feel like we can go in there and be competitive,? said Avenall.
Milford will be another familiar face in Clarkston’s regional draw. Like their tilt with Battle Creek, the Wolves won the first game and dropped the next two to Milford in a tournament earlier in the season.
Avenall’s only concern heading into regionals is with so much focus put on passing, the team’s hitting fundamentals have waned, but she expects the week of practice to address those problems.