Lake Orion rolls on to win Romeo Tournament

If it’s not been made clear already, the Lake Orion volleyball team is making sure everyone is aware that it is the team to beat in Division 1 in 2018. The Dragons have recorded wins over Mercy, Northville, Novi, Clarkston, Notre Dame Prep, St. Catherine of Siena and others this season and their unbeaten record held up on Wednesday when it won the Romeo Tournament at Total Sports Park. “We are getting better and better with every match and you can see the improvement with each tournament,” Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda said. “We still haven’t played that tremendous set from start-to-finish, but we are playing at a very high level for longer stretches.” The Dragons tallied another six victories on Wednesday and didn’t drop a set. In tournament play, Lake Orion was giving up just 14.2 points per-set. In the quarterfinals of the gold bracket, Lake Orion disposed of Mt. Pleasant, 25-15, 25-13. They then got past Grosse Pointe 25-12, 25-15. In the finals, Lake Orion took on Bloomfield Hills. The Black Hawks weren’t quite at full capacity as they had a few member of the varsity play with their junior varsity when the tournament needed another squad to fill in. Still, Bloomfield Hills managed to reach the finals with wins over Utica (25-9, 23-25, 15-12) and host Romeo (25-14, 18-25, 15-12). While the Black Hawks had some moments, Lake Orion was just too much for the young squad. The Dragons looked very well-balanced behind the attacks on the outside from senior Paige Briggs and junior Sydney Smith, and the attacks in the middle from senior Leigha Boes, and sophomores Kendall Robertson and Reagan Goeke. Ultimately, the Dragons were able to take the final by scores of 25-17, 25-13. Lake Orion will look to continue its unbeaten season next Wednesday when it hosts Mercy, Stoney Creek and Mt. Morris in a quad.   Romeo Tournament Results Pool A Recap Lake Orion dominated pool play, allowing just 69 points over the six sets. The Dragons defeated Utica (25-10, 25-16), Chippewa Valley (25-14, 25-8) and Carman-Ainsworth (25-12, 25-9). Utica bounced back from the loss to Lake Orion by earning victories over Chippewa Valley (25-14, 25-16) and Carman Ainsworth (25-8, 25-22) to take second in the pool. Carman Ainsworth topped Chippewa Valley in three sets (21-25, 25-22, 15-13). Pool B Recap The most balanced pool of the tournament saw three teams tie at 2-1. Bloomfield Hills earned wins over Sterling Heights (25-16, 25-9) and Mt. Pleasant (25-19, 25-20) but lost in three sets to L’Anse Creuse North (25-21, 21-25, 16-14). North would also beat Sterling Heights (25-10, 25-7) but lost to the Oilers (25-23, 25-18). Mount Pleasant earned a win over Sterling Heights (25-8, 25-8) which allowed the Black Hawks to get first on the tiebreaker of point differential (+34) while the Oilers were second (+32) and L’Anse Creuse North just missed out, finishing third (+26). Pool C Recap The hosts, Romeo, swept the pool, earning wins over Midland (27-25, 25-20), Rochester (23-25, 25-18, 15-13) and Lakeview (25-9, 25-20). Midland finished second by earning wins over Rochester (25-17, 25-19) and Lakeview (25-19, 25-21). Lakeview bounced back and edged Rochester (15-25, 25-16, 15-11) to finish third. Pool D Recap Grosse Pointe North took first with a perfect 3-0 record. The Norsemen defeated Port Huron Northern (25-15, 25-20), Ferndale University (25-9, 25-12) and Bloomfield Hills 2 (25-9, 25-6). Port Huron Northern ended up second with wins over Ferndale University (25-15, 25-15) and Bloomfield Hills 2 (25-16, 25-16). Bloomfield Hills 2 grabbed the lone win over Ferndale University (25-11, 25-13). Quarterfinals Lake Orion def. Mt. Pleasant, 25-15, 25-13 Grosse Pointe North def. Midland, 25-21, 25-22 Romeo def. Port Huron Northern, 25-18, 25-17 Bloomfield Hills def. Utica, 25-9, 23-25, 15-12. Semifinals Lake Orion def. Grosse Pointe North, 25-12, 25-15 Bloomfield Hills def. Romeo, 25-14, 18-25, 15-12 Final Lake Orion def. Bloomfield Hills, 25-17, 25-13