After a win at the Walled Lake Invitational, the Clarkston Wolves headed to the Grand Blanc Invitational hoping for a repeat performance on Jan. 13.
The day ended on a different note, however. The Wolves lost in the final game of the silver division after losing earlier in the day. The Wolves were downed by Battle Creek Lakeview 25-20, 25-9, their second loss to the Spartans, who fell into Clarkston’s pool of play.
Clarkston finished 2-3-1 on the day, moving its overall record to 12-10-2.
The Wolves tied Lapeer West, defeated Lapeer East and West Bloomfield, while losing to Mason.
Lauren Gardner had 30 kills and Julie Gillespie had 38 kills. Setter Emily Parkin had 91 assists all day.
‘I felt like we were flat all day, I’ve seen them play better,? Coach Kelly Avenall said.
‘Sometimes you’re on and sometimes you’re off, and I don’t think we were on Saturday.
Avenall said the losses are not the result of any lack of competitiveness from the team.
‘These kids want to compete,? she said.
The Wolves are a team still adjusting to the experience levels of each of its members, Avenall said.
She said the team tends to ‘coast? when in the lead, evident at the tournament when the team led late in games, but the team has not been aggressive enough to close the door on opponents.
The Wolves have three consecutive matches to improve on their 2-3 Oakland Activities Association record. Clarkston takes on Farmington Hills Harrison on Thursday at Clarkston High School at 7p.m.
They also face Troy Athens on Jan. 29 at CHS and Rochester Adams at Rochester on Feb. 1.
Clarkston’s league record this season will decide its seeding in the OAA tournament on Feb. 10 at Farmington High School. The double-elimination tournament will count for 50 percent of the team’s OAA standing, as will the regular-season OAA win-loss record.
Clarkston is hosting a freshman volleyball tournament on Jan. 27. Play is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.