My thoughts on the Dragons Volleyball Invitational.

Written Wednesday August 28th, at 7:52 PM

My thoughts on the days action on a great day of volleyball at the seventh annual Dragons Girls Volleyball Invitational that took place on Wednesday morning at Lake Orion High School. I thought it was a good tournament with four state ranked powers there. The tournament should help these teams get better and improve as we get deeper into the season.

Lake Orion: The Dragons are what you call a suspect team. This team has all the talent and weapons to contend for a state title but it depends if they want to show up and play. If they play to their competition then it would make coach Ross Talbott nuts and I thought that exactly happened today. Lake Orion beat Rochester and Birmingham Seaholm twice but split with Rochester Adams which is worrisome but in bracket play had to beat Stoney Creek and a hard fought three game win over North Branch before losing in the Finals to Macomb Dakota. The Dragons will be in the thick of the Red race this season with Bloomfield Hills and Clarkston but it will depend if they want to show up and play or not. If they don’t then they are in trouble.

Macomb Dakota: The defending state champions under coach Tracy Ferguson will be strong once again and a big presence will be in the form of Carly Snyder. Snyder will be a huge factor if the Cougars want to repeat as state champions and are currently number one in the state in Class A. If Snyder gets hurt then Macomb Dakota is in a lot of trouble. The Cougars besides Snyder is a pretty young team but looks good as advertised in beating Stoney Creek, Oxford, and Grand Blanc in pool play and then beat Clarkston and Lake Orion in bracket play. I expect a two way battle in the MAC Red with them and Romeo for the crown. The Cougars district is favorable but the regional could be tricky if they have to play Romeo.

Clarkston: The Wolves will be very good this season led by coach Kelly Avernall is ranked fifth in Class A in the state. They have arguably two of the best players in the state in Taylor Delinger and Katie Chadwell along with Brianna Frakes. Delinger transfers back to Michigan from Alabama is getting scholarship offers from SEC schools and Chadwell committed to Oakland next season. I thought of the Wolves performance is that they can be as good as anyone offensively but defensibly Clarkston gives up a lot of points against good teams. In the competition they faced today North Branch just tore them to shreds in pool play but managed to beat Troy and Avondale before meeting Birmingham Seaholm in bracket play where they won in two games before losing to Macomb Dakota. The Wolves will be a dangerous contender in the Red this season but if they want to go far in the playoffs they must improve defensibly.

North Branch: The Broncos are going to be a very good team and is ranked second in Class B in the state. I thought North Branch looked very good with their experience, play-making ability, and toughness and is clearly the best team in Lapeer County this season. The Broncos beat Clarkston in two games in pool play and cruised along until meeting Lake Orion in a tough three game set in bracket play. North Branch lost a tough match up but they will be a force to be a recon with once Battle Creek comes around.

Stoney Creek: The Cougars return a lot of talent from a team that lost to Utica Eisenhower last season but this tournament might have helped Stoney Creek get ready for the Red. The Cougars have Lake Orion and Clarkston at home this season and I thought they looked good today in a tough pool with Macomb Dakota, Oxford, and Grand Blanc. Stoney Creek lost twice to Macomb Dakota, beat Grand Blanc and Oxford twice. The Cougars made the gold bracket and lost to Lake Orion in the quarterfinals. Stoney Creek will be a dark horse team in the Red this season and a sleeper in district play this season.

Rochester: The Falcons shocked me with how hard they fight even when Stephanie Sikorski graduated this team has a never say die attitude. Rochester will be a dark horse in the White this season and if they bring the effort they did today then they will be in a lot of volleyball games this season. The Falcons beat Rochester Adams twice, split with Birmingham Seaholm but lost twice to Lake Orion. Rochester missed out on the gold bracket round but if they bring the performance they had today then they will be a dangerous team this season.

Rochester Adams: New coach Irick Gardner has a lot of work to do if his Highlanders want to contend in the White this season especially with teams like Beverly Hills Wylie E Groves, Troy Athens, and Rochester to deal with. Adams has a very good liberio. She works hard and plays with emotion and passion. The Highlanders shocked Lake Orion in pool play but struggled the rest of the day. Adams lost in bracket play to Grand Blanc. The Highlanders have a lot of work ahead of them and might struggle this season but they have the right coach to reload with in the future.

Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples are a very young team but is very competitive after last season’s state quarterfinal run. I thought the Maples held their own against Lake Orion losing both games and splitting with Rochester but Birmingham Seaholm beat Rochester Adams twice before losing to Clarkston in bracket play. The Maples will compete in the tough Red but coach Heather Lippert will be proud to go to battle with her Maples this season.

Troy: The Colts are very young and inexperienced this season since losing Olivia Parks for to an torn ACL. What makes it worse is that the Colts have to compete in the Red with the likes of Lake Orion, Bloomfield Hills, and Clarkston. I thought Troy looked good at times but other times they did not look good. It will take some time for coach Vince Muscat to get this program to where it should be at.

Oxford: The Wildcats are led by Darin Bandel. Oxford has to get contributions from other players besides Bandel and coach Kristi McDermit knows that. I thought at times that Bandel did get frustrated especially in the Macomb Dakota game. Macomb Dakota is a very good team this season but did manage to beat Grand Blanc twice but split with Stoney Creek. If the Wildcats want to do well this season it must need its star to do more and then some.

Grand Blanc: The Bobcats is expected to be a major contender in not only league play in the Kensington Lakes Athletic Association West division but also a contender in district play. Grand Blanc I thought played well in a tough side of the pool. They lost twice to Macomb Dakota, split with Stoney Creek, and lost to Oxford twice. In bracket play they beat Rochester Adams before falling to Rochester. The Bobcats are expected to contend in the KLAA West and the KLAA. The district is very manageable but they might have to deal with Flushing down the road.

Avondale: The Yellow Jackets might surprise some folks in the Blue and in district play. I thought that Avondale had nothing to lose here in the tournament. The Yellow Jackets lost twice to North Branch and to Clarkston and split with Troy. Avondale beat Troy in bracket play and then lost to Oxford in the semifinals. The Yellow Jackets could shock some people not only in league play but also in districts as well at Troy Athens.

We’ll see what happens in the 2013 season.