Dragons Invitational Recap

Written Monday September 1st, at 9:15 PM

When I look at the Lake Orion Volleyball Invite. There were some very good teams here and there were those who struggled during the tournament.

These teams are looking toward their respected league seasons and this tournament proved it.

Farmington Hills Mercy ended up winning the tournament beating Lake Orion while Northville won the silver pool.

Mercy this season will be very good and will be a huge threat to Birmingham Marian in the Catholic League along with Notre Dame Prep. "I just think right now we are running a couple of different offenses. It's still early in the season, we're just trying to get the kinks out" said Marlins coach Lorreta Vogel.

Lake Orion has played a lot of volleyball the last two days but have proven that they will be a force on the Red this season behind Hannah Murdock, Kory Varney, Nicole, and Natalie Wehner. "We're balanced, it's just a matter of if we come to play and focus, we'll be fine" said Dragons coach Tony Scravada.

Clarkston struggled a bit in pool play but has proven it will be a threat in Red play. "The league is on their mind" said coach Kelly Averall-Pinter, who got married this summer. The Wolves do have some questions at the back row but Averall-Pinter will have some senior experience to go with this season "we have a lot of senior returnees, we got some experience back there." Oh and lets not mention they have Taylor Dellinger back as well "She is one of the best hitters in the world" Averall-Pinter said of Dellinger.

Seaholm proved with their experience that they will be a good team this season as well and is getting ready for league season. "We got ten seniors" said Maples assistant coach Jason Gambon who was coaching for coach Heather Lippert who had a teaching commitment. "It's always tough. It (The Red) prepares us for the postseason" he concluded.

Oxford though young but they proved they can play with anyone and will rely on youth and balance this season "Last night our first test was a little iffy. Missing Darien (Bandel) hurts us but we got six players. It's just a matter of balancing it out" said coach Kristi McDevitt. Oxford could be a dark horse in the Red this season. "The league (Red) is one of the toughest in the state" McDevitt added.

North Branch though missing two of its top players to injuries have a lot of expectations in Class B and in the Tri Valley Conference's east division. "We hope to get better everyday" said coach Jim Fish. The Broncos has some issues when it comes to playing the bigger schools but is willing to play anybody. "We are hoping to be on top of our league and hoping to compete with Mount Morris and those type of schools" Fish concluded.

Mount Morris is a sleeping giant has an energetic coach and a good team that could do damage this season.

Stoney Creek looked good and will rely on its strong junior class to carry the Cougars this season. "I really like where we are at" said Cougars coach Mandy Moran "Our core group is our junior class and we added two sophomores and two freshman" she added to this season's Cougar Core. The goals is to improve this season "Our goal is to finish fourth or better (Red this season.) I think this year we aren't the newbees anymore so we know what to expect" Moran concluded.

Adams struggled with inconsistency and must replace it's liberio from a season ago. Coach Irick Gardner must address this issue with his team and with the White schedule coming up they must address this quick. Gardner expects his team to be better than last season. "We are better than last year, we are a better team. Even if you lose one player we are a better team" he added.

Macomb L'Anse Cruse North had wins over Clarkston and Adams in pool play and will be an interesting team to watch in the MAC Red this season.

Macomb L'Anse Cruse struggled today but could be an interesting team to watch this season.

Holly is another team who struggled and didn't look good until a game against Grosse Pointe North but still lost that game.

Grosse Pointe North will be a good team this season and will be in the mix this season in the MAC Red this season.

Macomb Dakota struggled at the tournament but still has the talent to compete for a MAC Red crown despite the fact they are inexperienced "we are very young but we want to come out on top. We have done it the past three years" said coach Traci Ferguson. The Cougars will struggle with the loss of star player Carly Snyder who is now at Florida. "There is no replacing Carly" Ferguson concluded.

Northville is a good team and should do damage in the KLAA Central this season. The Mustangs struggled going 2-4 in pool play but won the sliver bracket. Expect Northville to be a major player this season.

Novi is also a very good team and should do damage this season. The only down side is Northville and Novi are in the same district and same league in the Kensington Lakes Athletic Association. The Wildcats will be a threat this season in not only the league but the state as well.

Lake Orion beat Novi and Seaholm in tourney play. Mercy beat Clarkston, Mount Morris who shocked North Branch in the Quarterfinals and Lake Orion. Seaholm beat Stoney Creek but lost to Lake Orion. Clarkston lost to Mercy.


We'll see what happens this season.