The Lake Orion volleyball squad fell to Rochester over the weekend in a district championship game held at Romeo.
The Dragons made it to the Saturday afternoon final by fending off Stoney Creek in five games earlier in the day.
It was the third time this season that Lake Orion had seen both schools, as they all competed in the OAA II.
The Dragons dropped the opening game to Stoney Creek, 20-25, and then split the next two games (25-23 & 20-25), to find themselves facing an early elimination.
But the team managed to win the next two games, including a tight 16-14 decisive game.
Versus Rochester, the Dragons could never get on track and they lost in three straight games 25-18, 25-17 and 25-21, ending their season at 22-19-4.
‘I think both Stoney Creek and Rochester played the best we had seen them play and we played good at times but not great, not to take anything away from the other teams,? Dragon Coach Bob Howey said.
His team was led on the day by Ashley Bringard’s 31-of-31 serving and five aces. Kaitlin Denton added 17 kills, Jessica Bland had seven blocks, Sarah Brown notched 33 assists and Alicia Roth had 30 digs for LO.
‘I’m not sure if it helps or hurts that we had already played both teams twice before,? Howey noted. ‘I would have thought that it would help, but I think it helped them too.?
‘We made too many mistakes against Rochester, and we can’t beat a team with some height with that many mistakes,? he added.
It was the team’s rubber match with Rochester after splitting two prior meetings. The Falcons won during the regular season, but LO responded with a win in the league tournament (where they also topped Stoney Creek).
Rochester topped Clarkston and Utica Eisenhower to get to the finals. Stoney Creek beat host Romeo Friday night to earn their date with the Dragons.
‘I think the five-game match with Stoney Creek took a lot out of us mentally and emotionally and we just couldn’t find our game against Rochester,? Howey said.
The Dragons ended their season in second place in the OAA II and they graduate just three players.