Division 1 Semifinals Recap: Lake Orion outlasts Mercy, Rockford powers past Northville
The Division 1 semifinals were something to behold. The buzz was in the air for two great matchups and each lived up to the hype. Mercy and Lake Orion had everything in a five-set classic, including some frustrated coaches afterwards.…
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Continue ReadingThe Division 1 semifinals were something to behold. The buzz was in the air for two great matchups and each lived up to the hype. Mercy and Lake Orion had everything in a five-set classic, including some frustrated coaches afterwards. Rockford and Northville followed with a four-set battle that was a coin toss for the final three sets. In the end, it will be the Dragons and the Rams playing for their first state championship as a program.
Rockford def. Northville 25-13, 19-25, 25-23, 25-21
These two had a tough act to follow from the first semifinal, but did it well. The Rams started off fast, taking the first set 25-13 behind its potent hitters Lindsay Taylor and Emmy Webb, but the Mustangs of Northville proved they weren’t going to lay down and took the second set 25-19. The final two sets were back-and-forth, but the Rams found a way to 25 first thanks to Taylor and Webb, who combined for 41 kills. Webb alone had 21 while hitting. 514.
“Lindsay and Emmy have been our 1-2 punch all year and they definitely lived up to expectations tonight,” Rockford coach Kelly Delacher said. “You can tell Northville had a good game plan. They are a good-blocking team and did a good job of slowing Lindsay down a little bit. She still got her 20 kills and Emmy really did a great job and Emilee (Karelse) of getting the ball to her and finding seams in their block. Hitting over .500 in the state semis is pretty tough.”
Northville had its opportunities to take the match, but the Mustangs were unable to finish off long rallies and find the hot hand at the net. The team finished with 47 kills, with Jenna Boksha leading the squad with 11. The Mustangs also were a little hampered on defense as libero Hannah Grant was playing with stitches in her knee, but fought through the pain to play at Kellogg Arena. Grant finished with a match-high 22 digs. Gabriella Fisette had 24 assists in the loss while Elanor Knight had eight kills and three others had seven. Head coach Julie Fisette is losing six seniors, but felt strongly her program would be returning to Battle Creek again soon.
Along with Taylor and Webb, Rockford was led by Emilee Karelse, who had 52 assists while Madelyn Long had 21 digs and three aces.
Lake Orion def. Farmington Hills Mercy 20-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13
Paige BriggsIn a match that was befitting the stage it was on, the Dragons and Marlins had a classic. A loose Mercy team started fast and played with great confidence in the first set before the Dragons rallied late and then took it to the Marlins in the second. Mercy was trailing 20-9 in the second set and looked rattled, as the Marlins hadn’t been soundly beaten like that all season at full strength. Mercy would still rebound from the second and win the third by fighting off two set points, but Lake Orion had gained the confidence it needed to win by then. Paige Briggs had the best match of her career, posting 43 kills, including five straight in the fourth set to take Lake Orion from down 20-19 to up 24-20. She then added nine kills in the fifth set.
“It’s amazing. It feels so awesome,” Briggs, who hit .429 for the match, said. “There’s no words for it. It’s the best game of my life.”
The victory over top-ranked Mercy erased a number of postseason disappointments for the Dragons, who had failed to meet preseason expectations since last reaching Battle Creek in 2011.
“It makes up for everything that happened from 2012 on for us, not getting as far as we wanted to get,” Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda said after the win. “That win right there, probably nobody except for us thought we were going to pull that off. (Mercy) were the best team, No. 1, probably from start-to-finish this high school season. We knew if we were going to beat them we had to play, pretty much, close to perfect. We didn’t play close to perfect, but we played pretty darn good and got it done. Very proud of these guys.”
Wren Macaulay had 53 assists and 12 digs for the Dragons while Ciara Livingway had 21 digs with five aces. Sydney Smith added eight kills and 13 digs.
Jess Mruzik had 27 kills and 13 digs to lead the Marlins while Ella Loussia had 10 kills. Julia Bishop racked up 44 assists with five ills and eight digs. Kayla Shields added 17 digs before having to leave the match in the fifth set with a knee injury.
Vogel questions officiating, MHSAA
Following the Lake Orion vs. Mercy semifinal, Marlins coach Loretta Vogel and assistant coach Andrew Thompson expressed their displeasure in the officiating in the match and the MHSAA’s handling of the officials for the weekend.
During Friday’s semifinal, a number of uncharacteristic violations were called against both teams, especially against setters Bishop and Macaulay, who are largely considered among the best in the state.
“I want to make it real clear. For women’s athletics, I thought this was an embarrassment. To have these officials, with what they called, for women that practice every day in the gym, it was an embarrassment. I would like to say even more: Michigan High School Athletic (Association) should be embarrassed hiring people of that caliber. Who calls five seconds on a serve? It’s an embarrassment,” Vogel said.
“Just saying. Lake Orion won, and I’m happy with that, however … I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve endured a lot. I’m taking nothing away from Lake Orion. We know when we’ve been there. I think Michigan High School Athletic (Association) needs to do a better job. Watching what went on earlier, it was really sad.”
Thompson added, “I’ve been around volleyball for 34 years, and we were talking about this as we arrived. Loretta’s been to the final four 10 times, and I’ve been to every single one of those except two. I’ve won a state championship myself. It is embarrassing — and I’m calling on MHSAA — it is embarrassing for female athletics in 2018. Boys football is at Ford Field. And I get it, it’s money. Basketball gets Breslin. Girls get Kellogg Arena, and the treatment that female athletics gets is absolutely embarrassing, and it needs to change.”
Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda was reached for comment as well on the officiating in the match and he added, “I was very disappointed with the officiating at this stage of the tournament. A lot of bad calls were made on both sides of the net. The R1 was extremely inconsistent.”