After facing stiff competition to start the season, Clarkston was looking to earn its second OAA victory of the season against Troy on Jan. 4.
But the Colts took the game similar to the Wolves? previous losses to conference bigwigs Birmingham Seaholm and Farmington, in four games.
The Colts came out firing, axing the Wolves 25-16 and 25-12 in the first two games respectively.
Clarkston did muster up a fight in the third game. After going up 8-1, the Wolves held on to take a 26-24 victory.
The Wolves could not get closer than five points in the fourth game and fell 25-13. Lia Jones dropped an ace, before Rebecca Tincknell finished Clarkston off, 25-13.
Troy remains undefeated at 17-0 (3-0 OAA) and Clarkston falls to 5-6 (1-3 OAA).
‘Things didn’t exactly go the way I expected. I expected them to be beating us at the net and I really felt like their servers beat us,? Clarkston Coach Kelly Avenall said.
‘We had a real tough time passing (off) their servers so that’s something we’re going to keep working on.?
Dealing with the Colts? size was a challenge, she said. The Colts play four girls standing six-feet tall, including Jones, and three others near that mark.
‘We had a tough time hitting over their blocks. They’re a little more athletic than us, so that hurt us a little bit. The third game showed a little promise’it definitely showed us some things we need to work on,? Avenall said.
Troy coach Heather Matthew said the Colts played well enough to win, but not top-notch.
‘It wasn’t our best performance. They played very well in the first two games’we played alright and we pulled through when they needed to,? she said.
Matthew said the twin towers of Jones and fellow middle hitter Natalie VanDenBranden (and fellow six-footer) propelled the Colts to victory.
‘They’re great on the court with their presence, they’re intimidating and they do a great job. It makes a big difference.?
The duo each used their height to score seven kills, and VanDenBranden had four blocks.
Juliann Gillespie had eight kills and Lindsay Sawyer had three blocks for Clarkston.
Avenall is trying to work in a couple of newer faces on the team in junior Jilian Lochricchio and sophomore Kelley Croll.
‘She’s (Lochricchio) starting to work her way in there. She’s a junior and this is her first year on varsity and it’s taking her a little while to get used to the speed of the ball,? Avenall said.
‘She’s (Croll) got a great arm swing and a good serve. She’s a good setter so I play her on the right side because if the setter plays the first ball, a lot of times she can get to the second ball, she’s a real good athlete.?
Look for the Wolves? results from Walled Lake Central (Jan. 6) and Bloomfield Hills Lahser (Jan. 8) at The Clarkston News? Website, www.clarkstonnews.com.
The girls head to the Grand Blanc Invitational on Jan. 13 before another two-week layoff.