Athletes of The Week: Champs of the court

Spikers claimed their tenth MHSAA Volleyball District title in 11 seasons with wins over Lake Orion and Brandon.
The big win for the Clarkston Varsity Volleyball team was defeating their crosstown rivals the Dragons in the district semifinals in the Wolves’ gymnasium, 3-1.

The Clarkston Varsity Volleyball team . Photo by Larry Wright

“Obviously that’s a huge victory for us,” said Kelly Pinner, head coach. “We lost to them four times in the regular season. It’s such an emotional battle when we play Lake Orion anytime we play them. Either it’s early in the season for a tournament or if it’s for league. It just feels great. It’s hard to put into words how great of a feeling.”
The Wolves posted a 3-0 win over Brandon to win the district title. They continued playoffs with a 3-0 win over Troy in the semifinals of regionals; 25-17, 26-24, 25-19 on Nov. 7. They lost to Marian in the final, 3-0; 26-24, 25-20, 25-20.
“It’s been great to coach them all year long,” Pinner said.
The Clarkston Varsity Volleyball team is freshman Claire Nowicki; sophomores Skyelar Jidas, Sierra Kersten; juniors Mackenzie Rotter, Kelsey Schaldenbrand, Haley Stewart; seniors Jennifer Chupinsky, Kayla Daly-Seiler, Corrin Gualtieri, Olivia Johnson, Shaelyn Koleber, Grace Kraft, Kayla Luchenbach, Abbey Malinowskiand Kristen Marani.
“We are definitely going to miss those nine seniors,” Pinner said. “There was a lot of leadership out of those kids and a lot of experience. They were all around a great group of girls to coach all year.”

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