Spikers head into the Marian Invitational this Saturday with sights putting another tournament win under their belt.
“It will be a good tournament,” said Clarkston High School Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach Kelly Avenall.
The Lady Wolves look forward to the possibility of playing state ranked Marian, in fourth in Class A, and Lake Orion, ranked in third.
“There will be a lot of big time schools so it will be a good test for us,” said Avenall.
Another possible opponent is Seaholm, who the girls opened their league play against with a 3-0 win.
“It will help we have seen them,” added Avenall. “Beating them will definitely give us the confidence going in.”
They will battle Troy and North Branch in their first pool. They already played pool at the beginning of the season.
“They didn’t play well against us when we played them in the quad but they are well-coached,” Avenall said, adding anything could still happen. “Depending how the day plays out we could play Seaholm or Lake Orion.
The experience they gained last week against two OAA Red foes will help as they go into the tournament.
The Lady Wolves defeated Farmington on Sept. 27, 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18).
“We dropped in the first game,” said Avenall. “They definitely challenged us and they had a big middle hitter that gave us trouble. It was a good match for us to compete against a bigger middle.”
Farmington tried to come back after the two losses against Clarkston and grabbed the lead in the fourth set, 17-15.
Clarkston scored nine consecutive points and ended with the third win they needed to take the game.
Kaley Konjarevich had 12 kills and Rachel Dickerson had 11. Angela Niezgoda had seven aces for the day.
“I think the problem last week when we struggle against Farmington was the girls weren’t used to playing at home,” said Avenall. “Some of the younger girls were a little tense with their friends in the stands and a lot more people in the stands that they knew.”
The girls took on North Farmington and won, 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-12), last Thursday.
“It was a fun gym to play in,” Avenall said. “It was a loud environment because our JV players got into it and it was an older gym. They played with a lot of energy.”
Stephanie Marani had 13 kills and four blocks and Niezgoda had two aces and 21 digs, putting the girls 21-7, 4-0 in OAA Red.
The Lady Wolves hosted Oxford on Tuesday for a league game.
“They will be tough,” said Avenall. “They play a really good defense. You have to be patient on offense.”