BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Spikers gained the lead in the OAA Red after defeating crosstown rival Lake Orion last Thursday, 3-1.
“It’s a big win for us especially on their floor, and they were undefeated in the OAA Red as well,” said Clarkston Varsity Volleyball Head Coach Kelly Pinner. “It was a big night for us.”
The Dragons won the first game with a 25-20 score before the Wolves took the next two games 25-18 and 25-12.
Lake Orion opened the fourth game with a 7-0 lead.
“We were having a hard time,” said Pinner. “We just couldn’t make a pass. I called a time out and told them to regroup, refocus and remember they are great passers. To go out there, take a deep breath and make a good pass.”
The Wolves made a run and pretty soon the game was tied 14-14 before Clarkston grabbed the lead.
Near the end of the game, the Dragons took the lead back.
“I was thinking it could possibly go into a fifth set,” said Pinner. “But we had a couple of good points out of Claire Nowicki and Sydney Hasenfratz had a block. Then, Summer Jidas served an ace. We were able to pull it out. It’s a great situation for our girls. Obviously you don’t want matchups to be tight like that, but I think it’s definitely going to help us down the stretch because if we end up facing some tough teams down the road. Its good to learn how to come from behind and battle through some situations.”
Jidas had three aces including the match point and 18 digs. Nowicki had five aces and 22 digs. Jordan Newblatt had 18 kills. Elizabeth Adams had five blocks and five kills.
Clarkston (28-5, 5-0 OAA Red) look for their next two wins in the league this week as they go against Rochester Adams and Troy.
“This is a big week for us – we want to win the league,” said Pinner. “We close our league out at Troy. It’s definitely going to be our focus this week is to finish 2-0 in league play and 7-0 overall and win the league outright. It will be a good confidence builder and give us some energy and motivation moving into these last two weeks as we prepare for playoffs.”
She added it’s also a big week because they head to Beast of the East on Saturday – one of the biggest tournaments in the state.
The Wolves opened the week on Tuesday against Adams, 3-2 in the league heading into the game, while also hosting Senior Night.
“They have some decent hitters. They are definitely playing good right now. It’s someone we will have to be prepared for,” said Pinner.
They head to Troy on Thursday with freshman and JV teams playing at 5:30 p.m. and varsity following.
“Troy has a good right side hitter who is going to Florida. They have some dangerous weapons,” said Pinner. “I think beating Stoney and Lake Orion back to back is definitely a huge accomplish for them. I think they will have a lot of confidence going into this week.”
The game on Thursday will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network.
The Wolves head to Grand Blanc on Tuesday. The freshman team plays at 5 p.m., JV plays at 5:30 p.m. and varsity plays at 7 p.m.

  Clarkston Varsity Volleyball, Volleyball