Northville bests Lake Orion to win Novi Invitational

<p>After looking unbeatable for the first month of the 2018 MHSAA season, the Lake Orion Dragons have found some challengers atop the mountain this past week.</p> <p>The Dragons suffered their first loss on Wednesday to Farmington Hills Mercy, and on Saturday they dropped their first tournament when they fell to Northville in the finals of the Novi Tournament in three sets.</p> <p>After Lake Orion dominated the opening set, 25-13, Northville bounced back to take the second set 25-21 and then won the third 15-12 to claim the championship.</p> <p>“This is a great win for us,” Northville coach Julie Fisette said. “I think we knew we were capable of winning these big matches, we just needed to go out and do it.”</p> <p>Lake Orion looked like it wasn’t going to give Northville any opening, as it jumped out to a quick lead in the first set and never looked back. The Mustangs couldn’t get started and looked like they were destined to drop another match to the Dragons.</p> <p>“We came in shell-shocked. We were playing on the court that Lake Orion had been on all day and I think we came out a little intimidated and a little scared,” Fisette said of the first set. “We are still a little young and I think our girls just got so focused on the opponent that they forgot to play volleyball.”</p> <p>In the second set, Northville started to heat up behind the play of sophomore <strong>Jenna Boksha </strong>on the outside. Boksha got hot on her attacks and Lake Orion started to make uncharacteristic mistakes.</p> <p>The Mustangs took the second sec 25-21 and then started the third set with a 4-0 lead thanks to a kill from Boksha and an ace from Nyia Setla.</p> <p>Lake Orion would make things competitive, but couldn’t get into the lead. Boksha and <strong>Clare McNamara</strong> were a problem for the Dragons at the net and libero <strong>Hannah Grant</strong> was making dig after dig. The 14^th point came on a miraculous dig by the Mustangs that caught Lake Orion flat-footed. Boksha would then finish the match on a kill for the 15-12 victory.</p> <p>“We made some poor decisions with our hitting and our setting,” Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda said. “Northville is a good team that makes you work and I think we started to out-think ourselves. I was hoping we would move past that after losing to Mercy, but it didn’t happen. I think we just need to play volleyball and focus on the little things that we have been doing well all year.”</p> <p>Northville advanced to the final after beating Brighton in two sets, 25-14, 27-25. Lake Orion swept the hosts, Novi, in the semifinals by scores of 25-11, 25-17.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Novi Invitational Recap</strong></p> <p><strong>Pool Play Results </strong>(Team – Set Record)</p> <p>POOL A: Lake Orion 6-0, Plymouth Christian 4-2, Lakeland 2-4, Berkley 0-6</p> <p>POOL B: Northville 6-0, Eisenhower 3-3, Livonia Stevenson 3-3, Farmington 0-6</p> <p>POOL C: Brighton 6-0, Utica 3-3, Grand Haven 3-3, Ann Arbor Huron 0-6</p> <p>POOL D: Clarkston 5-1, Portage Central 5-1, Powers Catholic 1-5, Grosse Pointe North 1-5</p> <p>POOL E: Novi 5-1, Stoney Creek 5-1, Holly 2-4, Plymouth 0-6</p> <p><strong>Gold Bracket</strong></p> <p><strong>First Round</strong></p> <p>Eisenhower defeated Utica, 25-20, 25-16</p> <p>Portage Central defeated Plymouth Christian, 25-9, 25-23</p> <p><strong>Quarterfinals</strong></p> <p>Lake Orion defeated Eisenhower, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10</p> <p>Novi defeated Clarkston, 25-15, 14-25, 15-7</p> <p>Northville defeated Portage Central, 24-26, 25-11, 15-13</p> <p>Brighton defeated Stoney Creek, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13</p> <p><strong>Semifinals</strong></p> <p>Lake Orion defeated Novi, 25-11, 25-17</p> <p>Northville defeated Brighton, 25-14, 27-25</p> <p><strong>Final</strong></p> <p>Northville defeated Lake Orion, 13-25, 25-21, 15-12</p>