BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Spikers topped their opponents for the second consecutive weekend – this time going undefeated and winning the Beast of the East tournament.
“It was a huge day for them, even to go 7-0 against a very tough field,” said Kelly Pinner, head coach for Clarkston Varsity Volleyball. “It’s a big, tough tournament and you need to be on all day and they definitely were.”
They beat three teams in pool play winning two games each. Then, began the playoffs beginning with Stoney Creek and defeated the Lady Cougars, 25-18 and 25-14.
Mercy was next, also defeated in two games with scores 26-14 and 25-17.
“They are a tough team,” Pinner added.
The Lady Wolves went against Portage Central in the semifinals, which was ranked in second place in the state while Clarkston was ranked fifth. It was Clarkston to win in three games going 2-1, 25-21, 23-25, 15-9.
“We lost to them at the Novi Invitational,” Pinner said. “It was nice to turn around and beat them.”
Rockford, ranked sixth in the state, was next in the finals and with two close games the Lady Wolves prevailed, 25-22 and 25-23.
“They play faster than some of the teams we see,” Pinner added. “It really made us step up our level of play, too.”
For the day, junior Abbey Malinowski had eight aces and 82 kills. Senior Sarah Austin had 10 aces and 42 kills; junior Kayla Luchenbach had 11 blocks and 12 kills; and senior Madi Jidas had 96 digs.
“It is a great tournament to have at the end of the season to see where we stack up against the top teams in the state,” Pinner said. “The girls see they are right there in the mix with all of the top teams.”
She added she hoped the tournament prepares the team for playoffs with districts beginning Oct. 31.
“I am hoping it will spark some intensity at practice knowing that when the playoffs start we have to be on. knowing we have the potential to go deep in the playoffs if we play as well as we did Saturday,” Pinner said. “Hopefully Saturday’s win guides our practices and keeps our intensity the next couple weeks as we prepare for the first round of districts.”
Clarkston also defeated Birmingham Seaholm, 25-16, 25-15; and Goodrich, 25-13, 25-14, last Thursday.
The Lady Wolves head to Rochester Adams for a quad next Wednesday at 5 p.m. Then, finish the regular season with a tournament at Seaholm.