Dragons vs Blackhawks Volleyball Previews. Possible Match Ups and Projection.

Written Wednesday October 9th, at 11:40 PM

Thursday night looks like it will be interesting in Bloomfield Hills for the Dragons Girls Volleyball team.

The second ranked Dragons will travel to Bloomfield Hills to face the Bloomfield Hills Blackhawks at the former Bloomfield Hills Lahser campus while the former Bloomfield Hills Andover campus is being renovated. 

The Blackhawks come in with a 16-8 record and 1-1 in Red play while the Dragons are 28-4-2 and 2-0 in Red play.

Bloomfield Hills is formerly Bloomfield Hills Lahser and Bloomfield Hills Andover whom merged this year. The former Barons won the Blue while the former Knights were in second place in the White last season behind Beverly Hills Wylie E. Groves. The Blackhawks have a lot of experience this season with the merger of both teams. Both coaches coach Bob Hurdle (whom coached at Andover and coached at Oakland University for a time) and Lisa Hiatt (whom coached at Lahser is now an assistant coach) along with Hurdle’s son Eric Hurdle.

Lake Orion is coming off a three game sweep of North Farmington 25-11, 25-2, and 25-13 on Tuesday night and swept Stoney Creek 25-12, 25-13, 25-22 last week. Bloomfield Hills swept Stoney Creek on the road 25-17, 25-22, and 25-22 on Tuesday night however the Blackhawks shockingly lost in three games to Oxford 26-24, 25-15, and 25-16 last week.

As I said in the Volleyball Preview on Bloomfield Hills, the Blackhawks have a lot of talented players for Coach Bob Hurdle along with experience and depth. Bloomfield Hills kept everyone who was on Varsity at both Lahser and Andover from a season ago. (14 of the 15 players played on either the Knights or Barons last season.)

Bloomfield Hills has a big group up front in size and in length. The Blackhawks will be led by Micah Paulater, Shannon Wilson, Michaela Elliot, Alyssa Robinson, Erin Okuniewski, and Katie Wenson. This group is capable of doing a lot of damage especially Wilson, Wenson, Elliot, and Okuniewski. Wilson is going to Wayne State on a Girls Basketball scholarship next winter.

The Blackhawks has Megan Cunningham, Baylee Werner, Brooke Bearden (Liberio), Alicia Rice, Mia Aavik, Kristina Rasi, Lindsay Dauch, and Grace Baxter in the backcourt which will provide them some scoring from the outside especially Werner, Cunningham, and Bearden. The rest here are wildcards here and could pose problems in this match up.

Wilson had ten kills, Wenson had nine digs, and Elliot had nine assists against Oxford.

The problem I see with Bloomfield Hills is their defense. The Blackhawks have allowed 137 points in the last two games (Oxford and Stoney Creek.)

Projected Matches:

Front Court: Hannah Suciu and Kayla Rockey vs. Michaela Elliot, Karyn Vance, and Erin Okueniewski: In a match up of star players this maybe one of the most interesting match ups here inside where if the ball is in there one of these players could spike the rock down. Whoever dominants inside has a good shot of winning this match up but it looks like the middle could be hard to come by to get points but will favor the Blackhawks slightly. ADVANTAGE: BLOOMFIELD HILLS.

Hitters: Tess Marshall, Maddie Hargraves, and Hannah Murdock vs. Shannon Wilson, Baylee Werner, and Katie Wenson: This is a match up here will be as good as it gets. All six of these girls have killer instincts and can slam the ball down with authority. Wilson had ten kills against Oxford. Wenson can also slam the ball down as well. The Dragons will counter with Marshall, Hargraves, and Murdock, if they can get by this match up then they should be in good shape. ADVANTAGE: LAKE ORION.

Liberio match up: Ally Shinouskis vs. Brooke Bearden: Both teams have experience here but right now I would say the edge is even on both sides. The key could be which team sets the tempo at best. Whoever is the ultimate risk taker could win this match for their team. ADVANTAGE: EVEN.

Setter match up: Rachel Giwa vs. Megan Cunningham: This is a very good match up here of two very good setters. Both Giwa and Cunningham serve the ball very well and also are very good defenders. This is the key match up right here because whoever can set things up for their team's outside hitters will win this game. ADVANTAGE: EVEN.

Prediction: Both teams have depth, both teams have size, both teams are experienced, and both teams are very good. Bloomfield Hills is at home in this match up and will have the home crowd on it's side BUT defensibly is a huge concern for coach Bob Hurdle. The Blackhawks have allowed 137 points in the last two games and lost to Oxford in a three game shocker has me on edge a little bit. Lake Orion has a lot of talent as well led by coach Ross Talbott and has beaten eight top ten teams in the state already this season. The Dragons will take this game seriously and not look ahead to Clarkston on Tuesday at Lake Orion. The Blackhawks will play Clarkston later in the season and that could have major implications as well. I’m going with Lake Orion in this match up in a tough five game series because I think playing the difficult schedule in tournaments will pay dividends in the long run. Bloomfield Hills will be a major threat in Red play and especially to Birmingham Marian in district play. PICK: LAKE ORION IN FIVE GAMES.

  

We shall see what happens.