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.