Written Saturday November 19th at 7:52 PM
It wasn't a story book ending for the Dragons volleyball team hoped for on Saturday.
The second ranked Rockford Rams (60-9) used it's size and firepower to beat the seventh ranked Dragons in three games 25-21, 25-23, 25-10 in the Class A State volleyball finals at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams out killed the Dragons 49-27 which proved to be a huge difference.
The Rams held the Dragons major players in check holding them to under four kills. Dragons senior Liz Kalugar played her worse game of the season, only being limited to three kills. Junior Sophie Murdock had four kills. Senior Shannon Murdock was the only bright spot she had 13 kills to lead the Dragons.
The Dragons finished the volleyball season at 54-13-3, which was the best in team history. Lake Orion had a great run in the state tournament by eliminating three state ranked teams (Birmingham Marian (No. 3), Macomb Dakota (No. 6), and Clarkston (No.4)
Next season it could be possible that the Dragons volleyball program could be back in Battle Creek despite losing eight seniors. "We made it to the final day. That’s something to be a proud of. No team from our league has been able to that," Dragons Coach Bob Howey said to reporters about being the first team from the OAA to be in the state finals in the conference."We had a great group of girls. We set the bar."
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Class A Preview State Finals.
Written Friday November 18th at 12:47 AM
The State Finals are set and the match up has been announced. Anyway here is the prediction the Dragons Den is going with this game.
#7. Lake Orion vs. #2. Rockford: This is usually a football state final, it happened in 2008 with the Rams beating the Dragons 26-14 at Ford Field. This time it will be on the volleyball court. This will be the first time that both teams are in the state finals for volleyball. Both the Dragons and the Rams are senior heavy teams (Lake Orion: eight seniors, Rockford: seven seniors.)
Rockford is 2-1 this season against Lake Orion. Both teams played in Wixom in the East/West showcase when the Rams beat the Dragons earlier in the season. Rockford and Lake Orion then played in a tournament a few weeks later in Kalamazoo County in the Portage Central Invitational. The Dragons won the pool play match but the Rams got revenge in the final over a tired and exhausted Dragons team (whom had to play four consecutive games in a row) that day in Portage.
Rockford is a big in size, athletic, and feature multiple weapons that they can show on the court. The Rams are led by two division one recruits in senior middle hitter Andrea Kacsits and senior setter Halle Peterson. Kacsits is going to be a Buckeye next fall and is one of the finalists in the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year award. Peterson is a future Spartan for volleyball next fall and is also a dangerous player.
Rockford does have other players besides Peterson and Kacsits that are very capable as well in senior's Jessica Majerle, Jennifer VanCuren, Murphy Heyer, Rachel Henry, and Sidney Rodriguez. The path the Rams has took has not been strong though with some of the west side schools are down this season. Rockford has wins over two state ranked teams to get to the championship game. The Rams beat the ninth ranked Richland Gull Lake Blue Devils in four games in the State Quarterfinals Tuesday night in Caledonia. Rockford beat the tenth ranked Temperance Bedford Kicking Mules in three games 25-22, 25-14, 25-20 on Thursday night at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
Lake Orion meanwhile also has multiple weapons to feature on the court as well. The Dragons are led by the Murdock sisters, senior Shannon Murdock and junior Sophie Murdock but that is not all they have. The Dragons have capable players that can give havoc like they have all season long in senior's Taylor Hargraves, Angelica LeDonne, Maddie Hutchinson, Gwen Motley, Liz Kalugar, Dana Schrauben, and Kristina Hill. Junior Melanie Heath is a threat to score from the outside and sophomore Gabby Kalugar can get an ace or two. Besides a murderous regular season the Dragons have played this season(teams included were fourth ranked Clarkston, Birmingham Seaholm, top ranked Farmington Hills Mercy, third ranked Birmingham Marian, ninth ranked Richland Gull Lake, tenth ranked Temperance Bedford, second ranked in Class B Fruitport, among others.)
The Dragons path in the playoffs has been a adventure of brutality. Lake Orion beat four state ranked teams to get into the championship game. The Dragons beat third ranked Birmingham Marian in the regional semifinals on their home floor in four games. On Tuesday night the Dragons went into Macomb County and St. Clair Shores Lake Shores and beat the sixth ranked Macomb Dakota Cougars in five games. On Thursday night at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek Lake Orion gained revenge on arch rival and the OAA Red Champion the fourth ranked Clarkston Wolves 25-17, 16-25, 25-16, and 25-22 in four games.
For Rockford to win: The Rams do have the star power and notoriety especially with Peterson and Kacsits, their two Big Ten recruits along with others. If the Rams get going with the size advantage Rockford that has then Lake Orion is in trouble. Geographically favors Rockford, they could bring in the numbers from Kent County on down into Calhoun County but the problem could be it's fan base. The Rams fan base will likely be split in the Battle Creek area between Kellogg Arena and Battle Creek Central, (Rockford's football team plays Novi Detroit Catholic Central on Saturday at 1:00 PM at Battle Creek Central while the volleyball game is at 2:00 PM.) The Rams will try and use it's size to beat the Dragons and if they do then they could win it's first state title in volleyball.
For Lake Orion to win: The Dragons clearly has the team aspect believing in each other and not all on one person. Lake Orion needs to limit the mistakes, play smart, don't make any service errors, force Rockford into making service errors, and use the Rams size against them. The Dragons need to keep the ball away from the two Big Ten recruits, execute on offense, and play strong defense. The Dragons need Liz Kalugar, Shannon Murdock, and Sophie Murdock to kill the ball like they have been doing all season long and not make mistakes. If they are on their game then the Dragons could win it's first state title in volleyball. Lake Orion needs it's fans to be loud and vocal, like they were against Clarkston on Thursday night.
Pick: This has 15-13 written all over it but the team that has had the most difficult path to the State Finals will win this one in a wild finish. PICK: #7. LAKE ORION IN FIVE.
The State Finals are set and the match up has been announced. Anyway here is the prediction the Dragons Den is going with this game.
#7. Lake Orion vs. #2. Rockford: This is usually a football state final, it happened in 2008 with the Rams beating the Dragons 26-14 at Ford Field. This time it will be on the volleyball court. This will be the first time that both teams are in the state finals for volleyball. Both the Dragons and the Rams are senior heavy teams (Lake Orion: eight seniors, Rockford: seven seniors.)
Rockford is 2-1 this season against Lake Orion. Both teams played in Wixom in the East/West showcase when the Rams beat the Dragons earlier in the season. Rockford and Lake Orion then played in a tournament a few weeks later in Kalamazoo County in the Portage Central Invitational. The Dragons won the pool play match but the Rams got revenge in the final over a tired and exhausted Dragons team (whom had to play four consecutive games in a row) that day in Portage.
Rockford is a big in size, athletic, and feature multiple weapons that they can show on the court. The Rams are led by two division one recruits in senior middle hitter Andrea Kacsits and senior setter Halle Peterson. Kacsits is going to be a Buckeye next fall and is one of the finalists in the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year award. Peterson is a future Spartan for volleyball next fall and is also a dangerous player.
Rockford does have other players besides Peterson and Kacsits that are very capable as well in senior's Jessica Majerle, Jennifer VanCuren, Murphy Heyer, Rachel Henry, and Sidney Rodriguez. The path the Rams has took has not been strong though with some of the west side schools are down this season. Rockford has wins over two state ranked teams to get to the championship game. The Rams beat the ninth ranked Richland Gull Lake Blue Devils in four games in the State Quarterfinals Tuesday night in Caledonia. Rockford beat the tenth ranked Temperance Bedford Kicking Mules in three games 25-22, 25-14, 25-20 on Thursday night at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
Lake Orion meanwhile also has multiple weapons to feature on the court as well. The Dragons are led by the Murdock sisters, senior Shannon Murdock and junior Sophie Murdock but that is not all they have. The Dragons have capable players that can give havoc like they have all season long in senior's Taylor Hargraves, Angelica LeDonne, Maddie Hutchinson, Gwen Motley, Liz Kalugar, Dana Schrauben, and Kristina Hill. Junior Melanie Heath is a threat to score from the outside and sophomore Gabby Kalugar can get an ace or two. Besides a murderous regular season the Dragons have played this season(teams included were fourth ranked Clarkston, Birmingham Seaholm, top ranked Farmington Hills Mercy, third ranked Birmingham Marian, ninth ranked Richland Gull Lake, tenth ranked Temperance Bedford, second ranked in Class B Fruitport, among others.)
The Dragons path in the playoffs has been a adventure of brutality. Lake Orion beat four state ranked teams to get into the championship game. The Dragons beat third ranked Birmingham Marian in the regional semifinals on their home floor in four games. On Tuesday night the Dragons went into Macomb County and St. Clair Shores Lake Shores and beat the sixth ranked Macomb Dakota Cougars in five games. On Thursday night at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek Lake Orion gained revenge on arch rival and the OAA Red Champion the fourth ranked Clarkston Wolves 25-17, 16-25, 25-16, and 25-22 in four games.
For Rockford to win: The Rams do have the star power and notoriety especially with Peterson and Kacsits, their two Big Ten recruits along with others. If the Rams get going with the size advantage Rockford that has then Lake Orion is in trouble. Geographically favors Rockford, they could bring in the numbers from Kent County on down into Calhoun County but the problem could be it's fan base. The Rams fan base will likely be split in the Battle Creek area between Kellogg Arena and Battle Creek Central, (Rockford's football team plays Novi Detroit Catholic Central on Saturday at 1:00 PM at Battle Creek Central while the volleyball game is at 2:00 PM.) The Rams will try and use it's size to beat the Dragons and if they do then they could win it's first state title in volleyball.
For Lake Orion to win: The Dragons clearly has the team aspect believing in each other and not all on one person. Lake Orion needs to limit the mistakes, play smart, don't make any service errors, force Rockford into making service errors, and use the Rams size against them. The Dragons need to keep the ball away from the two Big Ten recruits, execute on offense, and play strong defense. The Dragons need Liz Kalugar, Shannon Murdock, and Sophie Murdock to kill the ball like they have been doing all season long and not make mistakes. If they are on their game then the Dragons could win it's first state title in volleyball. Lake Orion needs it's fans to be loud and vocal, like they were against Clarkston on Thursday night.
Pick: This has 15-13 written all over it but the team that has had the most difficult path to the State Finals will win this one in a wild finish. PICK: #7. LAKE ORION IN FIVE.
Dragons gain revenge, eliminate Wolves from playoffs. Await Rams for the crown.
Written Friday November 18th at 12:34 AM
In the terms of the late Randy "Macho Man" Savage. "Oh Revenge is Sweet"
Revenge was the term the Dragons volleyball team had in mind.
The seventh ranked Dragons put the hammer to the medal on Thursday night in the MHSAA Class A State semifinals in Battle Creek as they defeated the fourth ranked Wolves 25-17, 16-25, 25-16, and 25-22. The Dragons made up for that loss on October 18th when the Wolves beat the Dragons in five games on Seniors night in Lake Orion.
"This is so much better. Obviously, we could care less about our league championship now. We’re going to the STATE championships. It’s like such a bigger deal than leagues. It’s awesome," Lake Orion senior Shannon Murdock said to reporters. "Every single game that we win, just feels so much better, because we’re that much closer to winning states. And we just have one game left, and hopefully, we can pull it out."
Lake Orion is now 54-12-3 will now advance and face the second ranked Rockford Rams (59-8) on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM for the Class A State Championship at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. The second ranked Rams behind two Big Ten recruits swept the tenth ranked Temperance Bedford Kicking Mules in three games 25-22, 25-14, 25-20. The Dragons are the first team in the Oakland Activities Association to have a chance at a State Championship in volleyball. Ferndale was the last team to do so in 1976 but the Eagles weren't a member of the OAA. The OAA was formed in 1994.
Dragons Coach Bob Howey along with his staff dressed up in shirt and ties for the match up with Clarkston will likely wear it again on Saturday. "I've said this before, but at the end of last year, we knew we had a special group coming back. And we talked about what we could accomplish with that, and the rest of the team," Howey said to reporters. "This was our goal, and we've made it this far although I don’t think anyone thinks we’ve reached the final goal yet.
Rockford is 2-1 against the Dragons this season The Dragons and Rams have played each other in two tournaments. The first one was in the East/West showcase in Wixom. Rockford won that showdown but most notably both teams met in the Portage Central tournament in Portage. The Dragons won the pool play match over the Rams but Rockford won the tournament by beating Orion in the finals of that tournament. "They are 1-2 against us so I think it’s our turn again," Howey added to reporters about facing Rockford again.
In the first set the Dragons controlled tempo. They dominated the Wolves early by going up 16-8 then Clarkston and Lake Orion went 9-9 in the frame. The Dragons outplayed the Wolves winning 25-17, giving the Dragons a 1-0 lead.
In the second set it was role reversal. The Wolves dominated the Dragons early by going on a 6-2 run. Orion answered by tying the score up 9-9. However the Wolves responded by going on a 16-7 run to close out the second set 25-16 tying the set 1-1.
In the third set the Dragons controlled the game by going on a 6-1 run. At one point the score got out of hand that the Dragons led 20-10. Lake Orion won the third game 25-16, the win gave the Dragons a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was drama, Clarkston built a 7-4 lead then Lake Orion answered by overcoming a 17-15 lead and taking a 20-18 lead. However the Wolves answered by taking a 21-20 lead before Howey called a timeout. After the timeout the Dragons rolled after that, outscoring Clarkston 5-1, taking the match in four games.
The Dragons were led by senior Liz Kalguar's 16 kills and 19 digs. Junior Sophie Murdock had 11 kills and six blocks. Sophie's older sister Shannon had 14 kills. Seniors Dana Schrauben (29 assists) and Gwen Motley (23 assists) combined for 52 assists on the night and senior liberio Maddie Hutchinson had 45 digs to lead the green attack.
The Wolves (56-6) were led by senior liberio Maddie Lightfoot who had 31 digs while junior Kaley Konjarevich added 13 kills for the blue and yellow.
"I just feel like Orion was on top of their match. They rarely made mistakes, and when they did, they didn’t make mistake upon mistake. They made one mistake, and then they’d answer back with five great attacks at us," Clarkston coach Kelly Avenall said to reporters. "They brought all their firepower tonight. Swinging hard. We struggled to pass, and when we could pass, we struggled to attack. It just wasn’t a good combination for us tonight, playing down, and them playing up. It was tough."
The Dragons live on and play another day on Saturday. Tonight the Dragons earned revenge now they have a chance to be the best team in the state.
In the terms of the late Randy "Macho Man" Savage. "Oh Revenge is Sweet"
Revenge was the term the Dragons volleyball team had in mind.
The seventh ranked Dragons put the hammer to the medal on Thursday night in the MHSAA Class A State semifinals in Battle Creek as they defeated the fourth ranked Wolves 25-17, 16-25, 25-16, and 25-22. The Dragons made up for that loss on October 18th when the Wolves beat the Dragons in five games on Seniors night in Lake Orion.
"This is so much better. Obviously, we could care less about our league championship now. We’re going to the STATE championships. It’s like such a bigger deal than leagues. It’s awesome," Lake Orion senior Shannon Murdock said to reporters. "Every single game that we win, just feels so much better, because we’re that much closer to winning states. And we just have one game left, and hopefully, we can pull it out."
Lake Orion is now 54-12-3 will now advance and face the second ranked Rockford Rams (59-8) on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM for the Class A State Championship at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. The second ranked Rams behind two Big Ten recruits swept the tenth ranked Temperance Bedford Kicking Mules in three games 25-22, 25-14, 25-20. The Dragons are the first team in the Oakland Activities Association to have a chance at a State Championship in volleyball. Ferndale was the last team to do so in 1976 but the Eagles weren't a member of the OAA. The OAA was formed in 1994.
Dragons Coach Bob Howey along with his staff dressed up in shirt and ties for the match up with Clarkston will likely wear it again on Saturday. "I've said this before, but at the end of last year, we knew we had a special group coming back. And we talked about what we could accomplish with that, and the rest of the team," Howey said to reporters. "This was our goal, and we've made it this far although I don’t think anyone thinks we’ve reached the final goal yet.
Rockford is 2-1 against the Dragons this season The Dragons and Rams have played each other in two tournaments. The first one was in the East/West showcase in Wixom. Rockford won that showdown but most notably both teams met in the Portage Central tournament in Portage. The Dragons won the pool play match over the Rams but Rockford won the tournament by beating Orion in the finals of that tournament. "They are 1-2 against us so I think it’s our turn again," Howey added to reporters about facing Rockford again.
In the first set the Dragons controlled tempo. They dominated the Wolves early by going up 16-8 then Clarkston and Lake Orion went 9-9 in the frame. The Dragons outplayed the Wolves winning 25-17, giving the Dragons a 1-0 lead.
In the second set it was role reversal. The Wolves dominated the Dragons early by going on a 6-2 run. Orion answered by tying the score up 9-9. However the Wolves responded by going on a 16-7 run to close out the second set 25-16 tying the set 1-1.
In the third set the Dragons controlled the game by going on a 6-1 run. At one point the score got out of hand that the Dragons led 20-10. Lake Orion won the third game 25-16, the win gave the Dragons a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was drama, Clarkston built a 7-4 lead then Lake Orion answered by overcoming a 17-15 lead and taking a 20-18 lead. However the Wolves answered by taking a 21-20 lead before Howey called a timeout. After the timeout the Dragons rolled after that, outscoring Clarkston 5-1, taking the match in four games.
The Dragons were led by senior Liz Kalguar's 16 kills and 19 digs. Junior Sophie Murdock had 11 kills and six blocks. Sophie's older sister Shannon had 14 kills. Seniors Dana Schrauben (29 assists) and Gwen Motley (23 assists) combined for 52 assists on the night and senior liberio Maddie Hutchinson had 45 digs to lead the green attack.
The Wolves (56-6) were led by senior liberio Maddie Lightfoot who had 31 digs while junior Kaley Konjarevich added 13 kills for the blue and yellow.
"I just feel like Orion was on top of their match. They rarely made mistakes, and when they did, they didn’t make mistake upon mistake. They made one mistake, and then they’d answer back with five great attacks at us," Clarkston coach Kelly Avenall said to reporters. "They brought all their firepower tonight. Swinging hard. We struggled to pass, and when we could pass, we struggled to attack. It just wasn’t a good combination for us tonight, playing down, and them playing up. It was tough."
The Dragons live on and play another day on Saturday. Tonight the Dragons earned revenge now they have a chance to be the best team in the state.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Class A Preview State Semifinals.
Written Wednesday November 16th at 11:25 AM
These are the previews from the Dragons Den for the Class A State Volleyball semifinals, not the finals yet but it should be interesting. All games are Thursday night.
#7. Lake Orion vs #4. Clarkston: 7:15 PM. Both of these teams came off five dramatic games. The Dragons at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore over #6. Macomb Dakota and Clarkston over #5. Plymouth Canton. This match up is a good one, both have very strong and good players. The Dragons should be well motivated for this one after what happened on October 18th when the Wolves stunned the Dragons on Seniors night in Lake Orion in a five game thriller for the OAA Red championship. The Dragons should be well motivated and able to gain revenge but it will be another classic of two arch rivals. PICK: #7. LAKE ORION IN 5.
#10. Temperance Bedford vs #2. Rockford: 5:30 PM. Everything has been going well for Rockford sports lately with the Rams in the State semis for football (play Novi-Detroit Catholic Central on Saturday at Battle Creek Central and volleyball. The Kicking Mules have had an easy path to the state semifinals including a four game win over Livonia Stevenson on Tuesday. Rockford won over #9 Richland Gull Lake on Tuesday in four games. The Rockford fan base will be divided if the Rams get to the State finals on Saturday. The Rams have played a tougher schedule and their path to the playoffs has been much tougher, got to go with the Rams in this one. PICK: #2. ROCKFORD IN 4.
These are the previews from the Dragons Den for the Class A State Volleyball semifinals, not the finals yet but it should be interesting. All games are Thursday night.
#7. Lake Orion vs #4. Clarkston: 7:15 PM. Both of these teams came off five dramatic games. The Dragons at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore over #6. Macomb Dakota and Clarkston over #5. Plymouth Canton. This match up is a good one, both have very strong and good players. The Dragons should be well motivated for this one after what happened on October 18th when the Wolves stunned the Dragons on Seniors night in Lake Orion in a five game thriller for the OAA Red championship. The Dragons should be well motivated and able to gain revenge but it will be another classic of two arch rivals. PICK: #7. LAKE ORION IN 5.
#10. Temperance Bedford vs #2. Rockford: 5:30 PM. Everything has been going well for Rockford sports lately with the Rams in the State semis for football (play Novi-Detroit Catholic Central on Saturday at Battle Creek Central and volleyball. The Kicking Mules have had an easy path to the state semifinals including a four game win over Livonia Stevenson on Tuesday. Rockford won over #9 Richland Gull Lake on Tuesday in four games. The Rockford fan base will be divided if the Rams get to the State finals on Saturday. The Rams have played a tougher schedule and their path to the playoffs has been much tougher, got to go with the Rams in this one. PICK: #2. ROCKFORD IN 4.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Dragons punch first ever ticket to Battle Creek, defeat Cougars in five games. Play the arch rival Wolves in Battle Creek next.
Written Tuesday November 15th at 11:56 PM
The Lake Orion Dragons theme this season is "Refuse to Lose."
With the fans from Macomb County, the referees, most from Macomb County were against them. It seemed like everything was against them and lets not add to the fact that the Dragons were down two sets to none to the Macomb Dakota Cougars heading into the third game.
People would originally thought that the Dragons would panic, fold, and prepare for next year but this isn't your ordinarily team, this team is something special.
The seventh ranked Dragons (53-12-3) went on and defeated the sixth ranked and Co Macomb Area Conference Red Division champion Cougars (32-13-2 and shared the MAC red championship with Marysville) in a five game thriller 26-28, 21-25, 25-14, 25-22, and 15-13 in the Class A State quarterfinals at Lake Shore in St. Clair Shores.
The Dragons now advance to the Kellogg Center in Battle Creek in the Class A State semifinals and play a familiar foe in arch rival and the fourth ranked Clarkston Wolves (57-5) at 7:15 PM on Thursday night. Clarkston eliminated fifth ranked Plymouth Canton in a five game thriller in which one call changed the entire outcome.
Now back to the game in St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, every set was close except for the third game where the Dragons seemed to change tempo in a rowdy game featuring both student sections.
Both the Dragons and Cougars went back in fourth in the first game. The Cougars were led by sophomore Carli Snyder who matched Dragons senior Shannon Murdock kill after kill. The game went either way but the Cougars and Snyder found a way to survive set one despite bad officiating 28-26 and going up one game to none.
Set two went to the Cougars 25-21 and they went up two games to none. Macomb Dakota controlled tempo, forcing Lake Orion to make some crucial mistakes with side outs and serving errors and also Snyder took control of the game as well for Macomb Dakota.
With the Dragons down two sets, Dragons Coach Bob Howey told his team that they have been down this path before. “After that second game we told them to take it one game at a time. We’ve been here before. Just find our game. We can’t keep playing their game.” Howey said to reporters.
Set three went to the Dragons, with their backs against the wall. Lake Orion went on a 13-1 run led by aces by senior Gwen Motley and kills by Murdock and fellow seniors Liz Kalugar and Taylor Hargraves and ran way with a 25-14 victory making the match at two sets to one in favor of Macomb Dakota.
Dragons junior Sophie Murdock knew that after the third game her teammates started to gain the confidence they needed. "They were really vocal, we all said, stay strong. Stay motivated. We can’t get down. We wouldn’t let ourselves get down and we came back and won (the third set and eventually the match). “That third game gave us a lot of confidence. It gave us momentum and took it away from them.” Murdock said to reporters.
Macomb Dakota coach Tracie Ferguson knew that game three was going to be tough but they did force the Dragons to call timeouts, so it wasn't all bad. "Our serve-receive kind of collapsed and one thing led to another in that third game," Ferguson said to reporters. "We’ve talked about mental toughness all year and being able to shake things off, but sometimes it gets a little tough. They still fought. We made them call timeouts in the third game."
Set four was dramatic, both sides were even during the contest. The only negative was a yellow card on assistant coach John Kalugar, which did not make the Orion faithful happy. The largest lead any team had was four when the Dragons took a 15-11 lead but the Cougars answered by tying the score up at 19-19 and then going ahead 21-20 before Howey called a timeout calming his team down. Lake Orion then responded by going on a six to three run to close the fourth set and win 25-22, tying the game up at two games a peace.
Set five was also dramatic. The Dragons built a nine to five lead early. Then the Cougars answered by cutting the game within two points. The Dragons then built their lead yet again to 13-8 thanks to kills by Kalugar, Shannon Murdock, Sophie Murdock, and senior Maddie Hutchinson but the Cougars yet again responded, going on a 5-0 run to tie the score up at 13-13 a piece but the Dragons behind Murdock and Kalugar got the final two points and won 15-13, sending the Orion crowd in a crazy madhouse.
Lake Orion was led by Murdock's 21 kills, three blocks, three aces and 13 digs. Murdock's sister Sophie had nine kills and four blocks. Kalugar had 11 kills and 18 digs. Senior Angelica LeDonne had four kills, all four of them came from the middle of the court. Hutchinson added 32 digs, senior Dana Schrauben had 27 assists and fellow senior Gwen Motley had 24 assists.
Macomb Dakota was led by Snyder's 18 kills, four blocks, and 22 digs. Snyder is also being looked at by scouts to go to possible Division One schools for volleyball as a sophomore. Junior Megan Downey had 11 kills while fellow junior Kylie Churches had seven kills and four blocks. Senior Jessica DeVriendt had 17 digs and senior Danielle Spicuzzi and junior Megan Manierski combined for 36 assists.
Ferguson added that "They were the better team tonight. They have a lot of weapons and we just came up a couple points short. We came out strong and to keep up that momentum might seem easy, but it’s not. Knowing the way we played them this season, we knew they wouldn’t give up. If they know what’s working for them, they’ll do anything and everything to make sure it keeps happening until we adapt. We just adapted a little too late today."
The Dragons and the Wolves are very familiar with each other despite the fact they are rivals. The Dragons in tournament play have beaten the Wolves twice while the Wolves have beaten the Dragons once in tournament play but the Wolves took the OAA Red Championship in a five game thriller over the Dragons on October 18th in Lake Orion. That game will have the Dragons motivated and wanting a bit of revenge for that loss.
We'll see what happens but the Dragons live another day and a trip to Battle Creek is in the very near future.
The Lake Orion Dragons theme this season is "Refuse to Lose."
With the fans from Macomb County, the referees, most from Macomb County were against them. It seemed like everything was against them and lets not add to the fact that the Dragons were down two sets to none to the Macomb Dakota Cougars heading into the third game.
People would originally thought that the Dragons would panic, fold, and prepare for next year but this isn't your ordinarily team, this team is something special.
The seventh ranked Dragons (53-12-3) went on and defeated the sixth ranked and Co Macomb Area Conference Red Division champion Cougars (32-13-2 and shared the MAC red championship with Marysville) in a five game thriller 26-28, 21-25, 25-14, 25-22, and 15-13 in the Class A State quarterfinals at Lake Shore in St. Clair Shores.
The Dragons now advance to the Kellogg Center in Battle Creek in the Class A State semifinals and play a familiar foe in arch rival and the fourth ranked Clarkston Wolves (57-5) at 7:15 PM on Thursday night. Clarkston eliminated fifth ranked Plymouth Canton in a five game thriller in which one call changed the entire outcome.
Now back to the game in St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, every set was close except for the third game where the Dragons seemed to change tempo in a rowdy game featuring both student sections.
Both the Dragons and Cougars went back in fourth in the first game. The Cougars were led by sophomore Carli Snyder who matched Dragons senior Shannon Murdock kill after kill. The game went either way but the Cougars and Snyder found a way to survive set one despite bad officiating 28-26 and going up one game to none.
Set two went to the Cougars 25-21 and they went up two games to none. Macomb Dakota controlled tempo, forcing Lake Orion to make some crucial mistakes with side outs and serving errors and also Snyder took control of the game as well for Macomb Dakota.
With the Dragons down two sets, Dragons Coach Bob Howey told his team that they have been down this path before. “After that second game we told them to take it one game at a time. We’ve been here before. Just find our game. We can’t keep playing their game.” Howey said to reporters.
Set three went to the Dragons, with their backs against the wall. Lake Orion went on a 13-1 run led by aces by senior Gwen Motley and kills by Murdock and fellow seniors Liz Kalugar and Taylor Hargraves and ran way with a 25-14 victory making the match at two sets to one in favor of Macomb Dakota.
Dragons junior Sophie Murdock knew that after the third game her teammates started to gain the confidence they needed. "They were really vocal, we all said, stay strong. Stay motivated. We can’t get down. We wouldn’t let ourselves get down and we came back and won (the third set and eventually the match). “That third game gave us a lot of confidence. It gave us momentum and took it away from them.” Murdock said to reporters.
Macomb Dakota coach Tracie Ferguson knew that game three was going to be tough but they did force the Dragons to call timeouts, so it wasn't all bad. "Our serve-receive kind of collapsed and one thing led to another in that third game," Ferguson said to reporters. "We’ve talked about mental toughness all year and being able to shake things off, but sometimes it gets a little tough. They still fought. We made them call timeouts in the third game."
Set four was dramatic, both sides were even during the contest. The only negative was a yellow card on assistant coach John Kalugar, which did not make the Orion faithful happy. The largest lead any team had was four when the Dragons took a 15-11 lead but the Cougars answered by tying the score up at 19-19 and then going ahead 21-20 before Howey called a timeout calming his team down. Lake Orion then responded by going on a six to three run to close the fourth set and win 25-22, tying the game up at two games a peace.
Set five was also dramatic. The Dragons built a nine to five lead early. Then the Cougars answered by cutting the game within two points. The Dragons then built their lead yet again to 13-8 thanks to kills by Kalugar, Shannon Murdock, Sophie Murdock, and senior Maddie Hutchinson but the Cougars yet again responded, going on a 5-0 run to tie the score up at 13-13 a piece but the Dragons behind Murdock and Kalugar got the final two points and won 15-13, sending the Orion crowd in a crazy madhouse.
Lake Orion was led by Murdock's 21 kills, three blocks, three aces and 13 digs. Murdock's sister Sophie had nine kills and four blocks. Kalugar had 11 kills and 18 digs. Senior Angelica LeDonne had four kills, all four of them came from the middle of the court. Hutchinson added 32 digs, senior Dana Schrauben had 27 assists and fellow senior Gwen Motley had 24 assists.
Macomb Dakota was led by Snyder's 18 kills, four blocks, and 22 digs. Snyder is also being looked at by scouts to go to possible Division One schools for volleyball as a sophomore. Junior Megan Downey had 11 kills while fellow junior Kylie Churches had seven kills and four blocks. Senior Jessica DeVriendt had 17 digs and senior Danielle Spicuzzi and junior Megan Manierski combined for 36 assists.
Ferguson added that "They were the better team tonight. They have a lot of weapons and we just came up a couple points short. We came out strong and to keep up that momentum might seem easy, but it’s not. Knowing the way we played them this season, we knew they wouldn’t give up. If they know what’s working for them, they’ll do anything and everything to make sure it keeps happening until we adapt. We just adapted a little too late today."
The Dragons and the Wolves are very familiar with each other despite the fact they are rivals. The Dragons in tournament play have beaten the Wolves twice while the Wolves have beaten the Dragons once in tournament play but the Wolves took the OAA Red Championship in a five game thriller over the Dragons on October 18th in Lake Orion. That game will have the Dragons motivated and wanting a bit of revenge for that loss.
We'll see what happens but the Dragons live another day and a trip to Battle Creek is in the very near future.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Dragons win first regional championship since 1988. Await Cougars next in Macomb County.
Written Thursday November 10th at 11:15 PM
The Dragon volleyball players weren't even born the last time the Dragons won a regional championship.
Now in 23 years the Dragons can celebrate a regional championship.
The seventh ranked Dragons celebrated their first regional championship since 1988 and beat the Colts of Troy in three games 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 at in the Dragons Lair however the game wasn't a blowout. "It’s amazing," Dragons head coach Bob Howey said to reporters. "We thought we were going to have a shot after last year. We knew who we had coming back this year. We’ve just kept working and working and working. It was a little bit of a struggle tonight, but we got it done."
The Colts hung in there with the Dragons but the experience and being at home helped the Dragons tonight.
Lake Orion (52-12-3) now advances to the MHSAA State Quarterfinals in a wide open Class A and face the sixth ranked Macomb Dakota Cougars on Tuesday at St. Clair Shores Lakeshore.
The Dragons did not play their most statistical game but took advantage of timely kills and some Colts miscues.
Lake Orion senior Shannon Murdock had seven kills while senior Liz Kalugar added two kills and nine digs. Senior Maddie Hutchinson led all players with 11 digs.
The Dragons have had big crowds in their two previous contests, and hope the big crowd accompany them to St. Clair Shores on Tuesday. "Hopefully, we did enough tonight to get some of them to come out to St. Clair Shores," Howey said of the Lake Orion student section to reporters.
"We’ve never had student sections like we had this week," said Murdock to reporters. "It’s awesome to see how much support we have from our school. We take a lot of pride in our sports here, and we’re just really excited to keep going."
The Colts battled until the very end. Troy came in with a very good game plan, and that was to shut down the middle attack that the Dragons and especially junior Sophie Murdock had that worked against Birmingham Marian in the regional semifinal. "I was very proud of how our girls played," Troy head coach Ed Ruhl said to reporters. "Lake Orion served lights out tonight. I thought our game plan worked great against them. We had to make sure we played our game. The crowd got into it tonight, and I think maybe our girls got a little excited. They’ve got a good team over there."
The Dragons know that their path and their goal is near and the sixth ranked Cougars stand in their way toward their path to Battle Creek. The path may have gotten easier with top ranked Farmington Hills Mercy falling to fifth ranked Plymouth Canton in four games in Brighton. If the Dragons win Tuesday over the Cougars there is that possibility that the Dragons could play fourth ranked Wolves of Clarkston in Battle Creek in the state semifinals depending if the Wolves get past the Chiefs and the Dragons beat the Cougars.
The Dragons have been a focused bunch all season and want to win the whole thing. "We all want it so badly. We’ve all been working so hard. We just refuse to lose." Murdock added to reporters.
Tonight the Dragons lived and get to play another day and get ready for a Oakland County vs Macomb County, a classic OAA Red vs MAC Red battle but we'll see what happens on Tuesday.
The Dragon volleyball players weren't even born the last time the Dragons won a regional championship.
Now in 23 years the Dragons can celebrate a regional championship.
The seventh ranked Dragons celebrated their first regional championship since 1988 and beat the Colts of Troy in three games 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 at in the Dragons Lair however the game wasn't a blowout. "It’s amazing," Dragons head coach Bob Howey said to reporters. "We thought we were going to have a shot after last year. We knew who we had coming back this year. We’ve just kept working and working and working. It was a little bit of a struggle tonight, but we got it done."
The Colts hung in there with the Dragons but the experience and being at home helped the Dragons tonight.
Lake Orion (52-12-3) now advances to the MHSAA State Quarterfinals in a wide open Class A and face the sixth ranked Macomb Dakota Cougars on Tuesday at St. Clair Shores Lakeshore.
The Dragons did not play their most statistical game but took advantage of timely kills and some Colts miscues.
Lake Orion senior Shannon Murdock had seven kills while senior Liz Kalugar added two kills and nine digs. Senior Maddie Hutchinson led all players with 11 digs.
The Dragons have had big crowds in their two previous contests, and hope the big crowd accompany them to St. Clair Shores on Tuesday. "Hopefully, we did enough tonight to get some of them to come out to St. Clair Shores," Howey said of the Lake Orion student section to reporters.
"We’ve never had student sections like we had this week," said Murdock to reporters. "It’s awesome to see how much support we have from our school. We take a lot of pride in our sports here, and we’re just really excited to keep going."
The Colts battled until the very end. Troy came in with a very good game plan, and that was to shut down the middle attack that the Dragons and especially junior Sophie Murdock had that worked against Birmingham Marian in the regional semifinal. "I was very proud of how our girls played," Troy head coach Ed Ruhl said to reporters. "Lake Orion served lights out tonight. I thought our game plan worked great against them. We had to make sure we played our game. The crowd got into it tonight, and I think maybe our girls got a little excited. They’ve got a good team over there."
The Dragons know that their path and their goal is near and the sixth ranked Cougars stand in their way toward their path to Battle Creek. The path may have gotten easier with top ranked Farmington Hills Mercy falling to fifth ranked Plymouth Canton in four games in Brighton. If the Dragons win Tuesday over the Cougars there is that possibility that the Dragons could play fourth ranked Wolves of Clarkston in Battle Creek in the state semifinals depending if the Wolves get past the Chiefs and the Dragons beat the Cougars.
The Dragons have been a focused bunch all season and want to win the whole thing. "We all want it so badly. We’ve all been working so hard. We just refuse to lose." Murdock added to reporters.
Tonight the Dragons lived and get to play another day and get ready for a Oakland County vs Macomb County, a classic OAA Red vs MAC Red battle but we'll see what happens on Tuesday.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Dragons Stun Mustangs, await Colts next at Orion.
Written Tuesday November 8th at 11:30 PM
The previous two playoffs the third ranked Birmingham Marian Mustangs won back to back state championships and were looking to win their third straight state championship and looked like they were well on their way of doing but then came Tuesday night.
Tuesday night proved to be the Perfect Storm for the Mustangs.
Birmingham Marian, the Catholic League runner up (57-14) could not get past that road block, that was the seventh ranked Dragons of Lake Orion who were the OAA Red runner up 20-25, 27-25, 25-16, 27-25 in a hostile regional semifinal at Lake Orion High School.
The win was perhaps the biggest in Dragons coach Bob Howey's career. "It was huge," Lake Orion head coach Bob Howey said to reporters. " I think we were down 24-19 after the second game. You know what. We put together as tough of a schedule as we could possibly play this year, and that’s why. I think that’s the difference. We had a tough loss against Clarkston, (five game loss, three weeks ago) but I think it taught us to have poise for that."
The schedule Howey put together was brutal and what was called doomsday to many experts. The schedule included top ranked Farmington Hills Mercy, second ranked Rockford, third ranked Birmingham Marian, fourth ranked Clarkston, fifth ranked Plymouth Canton, and ninth ranked Birmingham Seaholm, whom the Dragons had to all play this season, whether it was the regular season or in tournaments.
The seventh ranked Dragons (51-12-3) advanced to the regional final on Thursday Night at Lake Orion against a very determined Troy Colts team. The Colts needed 64 minutes to eliminate the Southfield Blue Jays in three games 25-16, 25-12, 25-16. Lake Orion will attempt to win it's first regional championship since 1988. That year the Dragons went to the Final Four of the State tournament.
The win for the Dragons was revenge after what happened last season in Oxford when they fell to the Mustangs in three games. The difference was the match was at Lake Orion. "It’s what we’ve been working for all season," Dragons Senior Shannon Murdock said to reporters. "We played Marian in the regionals last year and lost and we’ve been looking for revenge. It feels so good to finally get it."
The Mustangs fell into the perfect storm like the gales of November when ships went down sinking on the Great Lakes.
The first set was interesting and good to watch. The Mustangs took control early after some unforced errors by the Dragons and perfect serving on the Mustangs part. The Dragons did respond and took an early 10-7 lead but unforced errors and mistakes let the Mustangs come back and take down the Dragons 25-20. It looked early on like Birmingham Marian was going to take early control like they did against Birmingham Seaholm at Beverly Hills last Friday night.
The second set was intense drama. Lake Orion was about to trail two sets to none and the crowd was quiet. Birmingham Marian had a 24-19 lead but the Dragons answered with a rally of their own. Lake Orion scored five unanswered points to tie the game at 24-24. After that, the game turned to a back in fourth seesaw. Birmingham Marian scored the first point to take a 25-24 lead, then the Dragons responded. After tying the score up at 25-25 the Dragons scored the next two points and won 27-25 to tie the games up, one set a piece.
The win in the second set turned the Dragons Lair into a madhouse. The second game set the tone for the rest of the match. "We let them back into it," said Birmingham Marian coach Irick Gardner to reporters. "We let the crowd back into to it. I think the second game was the difference. If we get that point, then we lead 2-0 and can play differently against them. All we needed to do was get one point and we couldn’t do that. You can’t take away anything from Lake Orion because they are a good team. They found a way to come back."
The third set was all Dragons. The Mustangs were rattled, vulnerable, shocked, and stunned. Early on both the Dragons and Mustangs fought for control of the set but the Dragons found some huge breaks that went their way in the contest. The Dragons stormed past the Mustangs in set three 25-16 for a two games to one lead. The Lake Orion faithful realized that maybe could the changing of the guard and that Birmingham Marian was beatable.
The fourth set was a classic. Both teams called timeouts early and with no timeouts on each side. It was intense drama, Birmingham Marian was fighting for their season took an early 14-10 lead and then the tide turned. The Dragons battled, tying the game up at 15-15. Eventually the Dragons went into a back and fourth tug a war with the Mustangs.
Birmingham Marian did have a chance to win the fourth set on two separate occasions. The Mustangs led 24-23 at one point and possibly force the game to a fifth set but it wasn't meant to be. The Dragons answered the call with a Murdock kill to tie the game up at 24-24. The Mustangs final points came when they took a 25-24 lead and then Murdock added another kill to tie it up at 25-25 all. Senior Maddie Hutchinson then finished off the Mustangs with two things, first with a serve that was killed by Murdock and then an ace to pull of the greatest win in Dragons volleyball history.
The final score on the scoreboard was Lake Orion 27, Birmingham Marian 25 and three games to one.
The Lake Orion volleyball team screamed emotionally, cheered, hugged each other, and fell to the court in celebration after the final serve was made in front of a shocked madhouse. After a quick get together with the coaching staff, the Dragons volleyball team went into the madhouse and celebrated with them on the floor with hugs and happiness. Birmingham Marian coaches and players watched with tears and sadness knowing their season was done.
The madhouse was the Dragons crowd were dressed in white for the white out. They were in the game all night long and constantly was making life miserable for Birmingham Marian servers and players. They were most vocal especially when the Mustangs had to go to the north end for sets two and four that was where the madhouse was.
The Dragons were led by Murdock's 17 kills and 21 digs. Murdock's junior sister Sophie had 13 kills and three blocks. Senior Liz Kalugar had 10 kills and 16 digs while Senior Dana Schrauben had 34 assists. Senior Angelica LeDonne had four blocks while Seniors Gwen Motley had 18 assists and Hutchinson had 35 digs and 23 serve receives to lead Lake Orion.
For Birmingham Marian this a sudden shock to end their season. They expected to be in Battle Creek and win it's third state championship but that will not happen this season. The Mustangs play in one of the toughest leagues in the state, the Catholic League. Next season Birmingham Marian will still be one of the best teams in Oakland County and in the state and that league is no easy picnic.
Whenever teams play Birmingham Marian, teams tend to break and crack, especially with public school teams instead of persevere. That is one of the main reasons how the Mustangs win games because of intimidation. It happened at Birmingham Groves on Friday against Birmingham Seaholm. The Maples psychologically were intimated by the Mustangs with their experience, reputation, and per-segue and lost the final two games 25-14, 25-15 after losing 27-25 last Friday night.
Teams psychologically, especially with public schools change their game plans and approach against Catholic teams like Birmingham Mercy, Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Orchard Lake St. Marys, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Novi Detroit Catholic Central, Birmingham Brother Rice, Farmington Hills Mercy, etc. The Catholic schools recruit players to play for them all around the state. Parents pay a lot of money for them to go to their school and play for them with the promise that they would land a Division One Scholarship.
Tonight however proved that public school teams can rise up, especially against the Catholic League and play them tough. Maybe this could be the possible changing of the guard.
For Lake Orion, it's retribution on a team that has caused them pain for years however the team only has 24 hours to celebrate this win and then get ready to play Troy Thursday night. Some will look at this match up with the Colts as a possible letdown game for the Dragons after the emotional win over Birmingham Marian. Others say it's a coincidence but it was meant to be.
Howey is confident in his team that they can win this regional and move onto the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1988, the goals are still there but they have to beat Troy first. "We haven’t won the regional yet, but to beat the two-time defending state champs here is very big. I think we’ll be ready Thursday (for the regional finals). I don’t think that will be a problem."
We'll see what happens Thursday against the Colts.
Tonight the demons was lifted and the Mustangs is the team that is going home while the Dragons live to play another day.
The previous two playoffs the third ranked Birmingham Marian Mustangs won back to back state championships and were looking to win their third straight state championship and looked like they were well on their way of doing but then came Tuesday night.
Tuesday night proved to be the Perfect Storm for the Mustangs.
Birmingham Marian, the Catholic League runner up (57-14) could not get past that road block, that was the seventh ranked Dragons of Lake Orion who were the OAA Red runner up 20-25, 27-25, 25-16, 27-25 in a hostile regional semifinal at Lake Orion High School.
The win was perhaps the biggest in Dragons coach Bob Howey's career. "It was huge," Lake Orion head coach Bob Howey said to reporters. " I think we were down 24-19 after the second game. You know what. We put together as tough of a schedule as we could possibly play this year, and that’s why. I think that’s the difference. We had a tough loss against Clarkston, (five game loss, three weeks ago) but I think it taught us to have poise for that."
The schedule Howey put together was brutal and what was called doomsday to many experts. The schedule included top ranked Farmington Hills Mercy, second ranked Rockford, third ranked Birmingham Marian, fourth ranked Clarkston, fifth ranked Plymouth Canton, and ninth ranked Birmingham Seaholm, whom the Dragons had to all play this season, whether it was the regular season or in tournaments.
The seventh ranked Dragons (51-12-3) advanced to the regional final on Thursday Night at Lake Orion against a very determined Troy Colts team. The Colts needed 64 minutes to eliminate the Southfield Blue Jays in three games 25-16, 25-12, 25-16. Lake Orion will attempt to win it's first regional championship since 1988. That year the Dragons went to the Final Four of the State tournament.
The win for the Dragons was revenge after what happened last season in Oxford when they fell to the Mustangs in three games. The difference was the match was at Lake Orion. "It’s what we’ve been working for all season," Dragons Senior Shannon Murdock said to reporters. "We played Marian in the regionals last year and lost and we’ve been looking for revenge. It feels so good to finally get it."
The Mustangs fell into the perfect storm like the gales of November when ships went down sinking on the Great Lakes.
The first set was interesting and good to watch. The Mustangs took control early after some unforced errors by the Dragons and perfect serving on the Mustangs part. The Dragons did respond and took an early 10-7 lead but unforced errors and mistakes let the Mustangs come back and take down the Dragons 25-20. It looked early on like Birmingham Marian was going to take early control like they did against Birmingham Seaholm at Beverly Hills last Friday night.
The second set was intense drama. Lake Orion was about to trail two sets to none and the crowd was quiet. Birmingham Marian had a 24-19 lead but the Dragons answered with a rally of their own. Lake Orion scored five unanswered points to tie the game at 24-24. After that, the game turned to a back in fourth seesaw. Birmingham Marian scored the first point to take a 25-24 lead, then the Dragons responded. After tying the score up at 25-25 the Dragons scored the next two points and won 27-25 to tie the games up, one set a piece.
The win in the second set turned the Dragons Lair into a madhouse. The second game set the tone for the rest of the match. "We let them back into it," said Birmingham Marian coach Irick Gardner to reporters. "We let the crowd back into to it. I think the second game was the difference. If we get that point, then we lead 2-0 and can play differently against them. All we needed to do was get one point and we couldn’t do that. You can’t take away anything from Lake Orion because they are a good team. They found a way to come back."
The third set was all Dragons. The Mustangs were rattled, vulnerable, shocked, and stunned. Early on both the Dragons and Mustangs fought for control of the set but the Dragons found some huge breaks that went their way in the contest. The Dragons stormed past the Mustangs in set three 25-16 for a two games to one lead. The Lake Orion faithful realized that maybe could the changing of the guard and that Birmingham Marian was beatable.
The fourth set was a classic. Both teams called timeouts early and with no timeouts on each side. It was intense drama, Birmingham Marian was fighting for their season took an early 14-10 lead and then the tide turned. The Dragons battled, tying the game up at 15-15. Eventually the Dragons went into a back and fourth tug a war with the Mustangs.
Birmingham Marian did have a chance to win the fourth set on two separate occasions. The Mustangs led 24-23 at one point and possibly force the game to a fifth set but it wasn't meant to be. The Dragons answered the call with a Murdock kill to tie the game up at 24-24. The Mustangs final points came when they took a 25-24 lead and then Murdock added another kill to tie it up at 25-25 all. Senior Maddie Hutchinson then finished off the Mustangs with two things, first with a serve that was killed by Murdock and then an ace to pull of the greatest win in Dragons volleyball history.
The final score on the scoreboard was Lake Orion 27, Birmingham Marian 25 and three games to one.
The Lake Orion volleyball team screamed emotionally, cheered, hugged each other, and fell to the court in celebration after the final serve was made in front of a shocked madhouse. After a quick get together with the coaching staff, the Dragons volleyball team went into the madhouse and celebrated with them on the floor with hugs and happiness. Birmingham Marian coaches and players watched with tears and sadness knowing their season was done.
The madhouse was the Dragons crowd were dressed in white for the white out. They were in the game all night long and constantly was making life miserable for Birmingham Marian servers and players. They were most vocal especially when the Mustangs had to go to the north end for sets two and four that was where the madhouse was.
The Dragons were led by Murdock's 17 kills and 21 digs. Murdock's junior sister Sophie had 13 kills and three blocks. Senior Liz Kalugar had 10 kills and 16 digs while Senior Dana Schrauben had 34 assists. Senior Angelica LeDonne had four blocks while Seniors Gwen Motley had 18 assists and Hutchinson had 35 digs and 23 serve receives to lead Lake Orion.
For Birmingham Marian this a sudden shock to end their season. They expected to be in Battle Creek and win it's third state championship but that will not happen this season. The Mustangs play in one of the toughest leagues in the state, the Catholic League. Next season Birmingham Marian will still be one of the best teams in Oakland County and in the state and that league is no easy picnic.
Whenever teams play Birmingham Marian, teams tend to break and crack, especially with public school teams instead of persevere. That is one of the main reasons how the Mustangs win games because of intimidation. It happened at Birmingham Groves on Friday against Birmingham Seaholm. The Maples psychologically were intimated by the Mustangs with their experience, reputation, and per-segue and lost the final two games 25-14, 25-15 after losing 27-25 last Friday night.
Teams psychologically, especially with public schools change their game plans and approach against Catholic teams like Birmingham Mercy, Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Orchard Lake St. Marys, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Novi Detroit Catholic Central, Birmingham Brother Rice, Farmington Hills Mercy, etc. The Catholic schools recruit players to play for them all around the state. Parents pay a lot of money for them to go to their school and play for them with the promise that they would land a Division One Scholarship.
Tonight however proved that public school teams can rise up, especially against the Catholic League and play them tough. Maybe this could be the possible changing of the guard.
For Lake Orion, it's retribution on a team that has caused them pain for years however the team only has 24 hours to celebrate this win and then get ready to play Troy Thursday night. Some will look at this match up with the Colts as a possible letdown game for the Dragons after the emotional win over Birmingham Marian. Others say it's a coincidence but it was meant to be.
Howey is confident in his team that they can win this regional and move onto the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1988, the goals are still there but they have to beat Troy first. "We haven’t won the regional yet, but to beat the two-time defending state champs here is very big. I think we’ll be ready Thursday (for the regional finals). I don’t think that will be a problem."
We'll see what happens Thursday against the Colts.
Tonight the demons was lifted and the Mustangs is the team that is going home while the Dragons live to play another day.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Dragons tame Falcons, await Mustangs next in Orion.
Written Saturday November 5th at 8:20 PM
Experience and size matters on some days, however Saturday afternoon at Rochester, both were on display.
The seventh ranked Dragons (50-12-3) overcame a gutsy and young Falcons (12-20-8) team, as well as terrible officiating to win in three games 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 over the host Rochester Falcons and will now move on to a war with third ranked Birmingham Marian (57-13) in a regional semifinal on Tuesday night at Lake Orion.
The win gave the Dragons their second district championship in 16 years and back to back crowns.
Lake Orion struggled with it's serving, consisting a lot of service errors in the contest and kept Rochester in the game.
The Dragons were led by senior Liz Kaulgar with ten kills and 13 digs. Senior Maddie Hutchinson had 19 digs while senior Dana Schrauben added 17 assists. Junior Sophie Murdock added eight kills and 14 digs.
Dragons coach Bob Howey knows that his team has to do better if they want to beat Birmingham Marian but his girls are ready for the task in hand. "We're just trying to get to a certain level, and the next game it will be intense," Howey said to reporters. "(My players) are fired up for it, it's what they've been looking forward to."
Experience and size matters on some days, however Saturday afternoon at Rochester, both were on display.
The seventh ranked Dragons (50-12-3) overcame a gutsy and young Falcons (12-20-8) team, as well as terrible officiating to win in three games 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 over the host Rochester Falcons and will now move on to a war with third ranked Birmingham Marian (57-13) in a regional semifinal on Tuesday night at Lake Orion.
The win gave the Dragons their second district championship in 16 years and back to back crowns.
Lake Orion struggled with it's serving, consisting a lot of service errors in the contest and kept Rochester in the game.
The Dragons were led by senior Liz Kaulgar with ten kills and 13 digs. Senior Maddie Hutchinson had 19 digs while senior Dana Schrauben added 17 assists. Junior Sophie Murdock added eight kills and 14 digs.
Dragons coach Bob Howey knows that his team has to do better if they want to beat Birmingham Marian but his girls are ready for the task in hand. "We're just trying to get to a certain level, and the next game it will be intense," Howey said to reporters. "(My players) are fired up for it, it's what they've been looking forward to."
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Dragons sweep Highlanders, await Falcons in Rochester on Saturday.
Written Thursday November 3rd, at 11:18 PM.
One word for the first two games that could explain Lake Orion Volleyball Dragons. Dominant. The third game, not so much.
The Dragons did manage to survive the third game after Rochester Adams tied the game up at 21-21, however a service error by Adams led the way for Lake Orion that ended up sweeping the Rochester Adams Highlanders, 25-11, 25-10, 25-23 at Rochester High School on Thursday night.
Dragons coach Bob Howey liked the way his team played tonight against Rochester Adams. "I really like what I saw tonight, especially in the first two games, I thought our hitters and our setters were on their games. That was some good volleyball from us."
The Dragons (49-12-3) will move on and play the host school, the Rochester Falcons on Saturday at noon. The Dragons will attempt to try and win their second straight district championship and second in 16 years.
Lake Orion was led by it's strong senior class once again, Liz Kalugar and Shannon Murdock combined for 17 kills in the contest while junior Sophie Murdock added nine kills of her own. Senior's Dana Schrauben and Gwen Motley combined for 28 assists."I thought it was going to be hard for us to keep up the same energy level that we had in the first two games," Howey said. "Adams definitely came out strong in that third game. They put up a really good fight."
The Falcons survived a five game thriller with their eastern city rival, the Stoney Creek Cougars, whom won the Rochester City Championship for volleyball. Rochester beat Stoney Creek 16-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15 to get into the championship game on it's home court. Earlier in the season the Dragons won 25-20, 25-12, 25-17, and swept the Falcons on that day.
Saturday is going to decide a district champion but it's going to actually be a road game for the Dragons. Howey wants to make sure his team doesn't overlook toward Birmingham Marian (Tuesday at Lake Orion), if they win Saturday against Rochester. "We’re looking ahead to Saturday now. We just have to make sure we keep taking it one match at a time. If you overlook someone and come out flat, your season could be over. I love my group because I don’t have to tell them that very often. They know that they can’t look past anybody. They know that there won’t even be a regional match against Marian if they don’t take care of business in districts. It’s really a great group of kids."
One word for the first two games that could explain Lake Orion Volleyball Dragons. Dominant. The third game, not so much.
The Dragons did manage to survive the third game after Rochester Adams tied the game up at 21-21, however a service error by Adams led the way for Lake Orion that ended up sweeping the Rochester Adams Highlanders, 25-11, 25-10, 25-23 at Rochester High School on Thursday night.
Dragons coach Bob Howey liked the way his team played tonight against Rochester Adams. "I really like what I saw tonight, especially in the first two games, I thought our hitters and our setters were on their games. That was some good volleyball from us."
The Dragons (49-12-3) will move on and play the host school, the Rochester Falcons on Saturday at noon. The Dragons will attempt to try and win their second straight district championship and second in 16 years.
Lake Orion was led by it's strong senior class once again, Liz Kalugar and Shannon Murdock combined for 17 kills in the contest while junior Sophie Murdock added nine kills of her own. Senior's Dana Schrauben and Gwen Motley combined for 28 assists."I thought it was going to be hard for us to keep up the same energy level that we had in the first two games," Howey said. "Adams definitely came out strong in that third game. They put up a really good fight."
The Falcons survived a five game thriller with their eastern city rival, the Stoney Creek Cougars, whom won the Rochester City Championship for volleyball. Rochester beat Stoney Creek 16-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15 to get into the championship game on it's home court. Earlier in the season the Dragons won 25-20, 25-12, 25-17, and swept the Falcons on that day.
Saturday is going to decide a district champion but it's going to actually be a road game for the Dragons. Howey wants to make sure his team doesn't overlook toward Birmingham Marian (Tuesday at Lake Orion), if they win Saturday against Rochester. "We’re looking ahead to Saturday now. We just have to make sure we keep taking it one match at a time. If you overlook someone and come out flat, your season could be over. I love my group because I don’t have to tell them that very often. They know that they can’t look past anybody. They know that there won’t even be a regional match against Marian if they don’t take care of business in districts. It’s really a great group of kids."
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Dragons regroup with win over Wildcats. Awaits Highlanders Next.
Written Wednesday November 2nd, at 10:00 AM
To some, some view this match Tuesday night with Oxford as redemption. Some view as getting back on track. Some refer it one game at a time. That's what happened Tuesday night in the Pre-District of the post season MHSAA girls Volleyball tournament at Lake Orion High School.
The Dragons handled the Wildcats 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 in a loud Dragons field-house, and will move on to Thursday's district semifinals with Rochester Adams at 5:00 PM at Rochester and that winner will move to the district finals with a noon tilt on Saturday against either the Rochester Falcons or the Stoney Creek Cougars.
The term redemption is a term that most people view as swift justice but when the Dragons lost the OAA Red to Clarkston two weeks ago in a five game thriller at Lake Orion. The loss left a bad taste in the mouth of the players, coaches, and fans. It was time to get back on track and prove people wrong.
"Tonight was a good start for us," Dragons coach Bob Howey said to reporters after the Oxford game. "This was the kind of win we needed to get back on track. The girls really wanted to win the league. It was tough for them to get over that and get ready for playoffs. It took a little bit for them to bounce back, and that is why I think tonight was so key for us."
Lake Orion was led by a heavy senior class in Shannon Murdock's 11 kills, Maddie Hutchinson's 23 digs, Dan Schrauben's 21 assists and Glen Motley's 16 assists. However not all was led by the senior class, juniors Sophie Murdock and Melanie Heath had 18 kills combined in the Dragons victory tonight.
The Dragons next opponent is Rochester Adams. The Highlanders and the Dragons met earlier in the season at Lake Orion with the Dragons winning in three games. "We’re expecting Adams to bring their best," Howey added to reporters. "It seems like a long time ago since we’ve played them. I know that we’ll be ready, though."
Maybe this was the best thing to happen to the Dragons but nobody knows. Maybe faith has the Dragons going places deep into the playoffs, but we'll see what happens.
To some, some view this match Tuesday night with Oxford as redemption. Some view as getting back on track. Some refer it one game at a time. That's what happened Tuesday night in the Pre-District of the post season MHSAA girls Volleyball tournament at Lake Orion High School.
The Dragons handled the Wildcats 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 in a loud Dragons field-house, and will move on to Thursday's district semifinals with Rochester Adams at 5:00 PM at Rochester and that winner will move to the district finals with a noon tilt on Saturday against either the Rochester Falcons or the Stoney Creek Cougars.
The term redemption is a term that most people view as swift justice but when the Dragons lost the OAA Red to Clarkston two weeks ago in a five game thriller at Lake Orion. The loss left a bad taste in the mouth of the players, coaches, and fans. It was time to get back on track and prove people wrong.
"Tonight was a good start for us," Dragons coach Bob Howey said to reporters after the Oxford game. "This was the kind of win we needed to get back on track. The girls really wanted to win the league. It was tough for them to get over that and get ready for playoffs. It took a little bit for them to bounce back, and that is why I think tonight was so key for us."
Lake Orion was led by a heavy senior class in Shannon Murdock's 11 kills, Maddie Hutchinson's 23 digs, Dan Schrauben's 21 assists and Glen Motley's 16 assists. However not all was led by the senior class, juniors Sophie Murdock and Melanie Heath had 18 kills combined in the Dragons victory tonight.
The Dragons next opponent is Rochester Adams. The Highlanders and the Dragons met earlier in the season at Lake Orion with the Dragons winning in three games. "We’re expecting Adams to bring their best," Howey added to reporters. "It seems like a long time ago since we’ve played them. I know that we’ll be ready, though."
Maybe this was the best thing to happen to the Dragons but nobody knows. Maybe faith has the Dragons going places deep into the playoffs, but we'll see what happens.
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