Dragons Survive Wildcats.

Written Friday October 18th, at 12:30 AM

Tuesday was a complete disaster for Lake Orion against Clarkston where it lost in four games.

Thursday was looking like another repeat performance of Tuesday at Ian Smith Gym. Especially with the fact Oxford won game one in a wild match (29-27) like game two against Clarkston and the fact that the Dragons let Wildcat star and Oakland University recruit Darien Bandell control things and add the fact that her and her teammates were energized.

The difference tonight compared to Tuesday night was Lake Orion found enough energy after the third set to outscore Oxford 40-27 in those final two games where as when they lost to Clarkston on Tuesday, the Wolves outscored the Dragons 50-40 in those final two games (Games Three and Four.)

The second ranked Dragons held off the Wildcats with a 27-29, 25-20, 25-27, 25-20, and 15-7. Lake Orion did have times where they had several miscues and errors that aided Oxford’s rallies.

Lake Orion (30-5-2, 4-1 Red) was led by Hannah Murdock 24 kills along with Rachel Giwa’s 62 assists.

Oxford (24-11-5, 4-1 Red) was led by Bandell’s 29 kills along with Julia Walker whom added 11 kills.

Both Lake Orion coach Ross Talbott and Oxford coach Kristi McDevitt liked how the game played out tonight and knew that both their teams would be dangerous come playoff time.

This is a big win for Lake Orion tonight. They did not play well against Clarkston on Tuesday or again tonight in my opinion. They let Bandell control things early and that is not good especially if she is getting kills and controlling tempo then you’re in trouble. I thought when they lost 29-27 in the first set and 27-25 in the third set that it could be a long night but the girls hung in there and somehow found a way and grabbed a victory in the process.

They do play on Saturday in the Beast of the East tournament which won’t be easy especially seeing teams like Birmingham Marian, Farmington Hills Mercy, Romeo, Clarkston, Macomb Dakota, among others.

Then on Tuesday the Dragons has a brutal trip to the Maples Nest to meet an improved Birmingham Seaholm team even though they are 17-13-1 and 2-3 in the Red coming into this match up. The Maples almost upset Clarkston on Thursday night. Birmingham Seaholm lost in five games to the Wolves at Clarkston 25-12, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, and 16-14. Maples coach Heather Lippert said after the loss that her team had a turning point and that was it. It’s going to be a very tough match up for the ladies on Tuesday night especially dealing with the Maples Nest crowd, which is one of the best crowds in Oakland County. Lake Orion closes out the league season with a home match against Troy on Thursday night.

We’ll see what happens.