Miss Volleyball Finalist Profile: Lake Orion’s Paige Briggs

<p>Tony Scavarda and the Lake Orion volleyball program and seen a lot of talented players over the years, but the head coach of the Dragons believes <strong>Paige Briggs</strong> is a cut above.</p> <p>“We have had plenty of good D1 players, but nobody that plays at that high a level all the way around the court,” Scavarda said</p> <p>A versatile and powerful all-around player, the senior outside hitter for Lake Orion is one of the 10 Miss Volleyball finalists for the 2018 award.</p> <p>“It’s so exciting and I am so honored and blessed to be a finalist. There are so many good girls on the list. I am just really happy,” Briggs said of being a finalist.</p> <p>Briggs spent her first two seasons at Oxford and that included a sophomore season where she had over 400 kills and over 300 digs for the Wildcats. As a junior, Briggs would move to Lake Orion and join the Dragons, giving them a powerful attack to an already talented team.</p> <p>In the 2017 season, Briggs was having a major impact, putting up 354 kills and 186 digs by mid-September. However, a back injury happened and lingered throughout the rest of the season to keep her off the floor. Despite the injury, Briggs was still a Second Team All-State pick in Class A.</p> <p>“It was stressful,” Briggs said of 2017. “But, I am healed and I feel good. This season is going well. I was sad (about 2017), but I am happy to be back.”</p> <p>Briggs has picked up where she left off last year, this season as a senior captain. She has helped lead Lake Orion to a 41-3 thus far.</p> <p>“Last year was cut short, but she was off to an incredible start and just had the injury,” Scavarda said. “This year, rarely does she have an off game. An off game for her is hitting around .300, which is great for most outside hitters.”</p> <p>The injury bug hasn’t completely avoided Lake Orion this season, as Briggs’ teammate on the outside, <strong>Sydney Smith</strong>, has been out for multiple weeks with an ankle injury. With Smith out, Briggs has changed up her game and become the primary attacker no matter where she is on the floor.</p> <p>“Before we had balance, but we just set Paige even more now,” Scavarda said. “Our other hitters have been up and down and we are just trying to find consistent offense. Paige is doing it out of the back row and the front row. She’s fine with getting more balls. The big difference for her is that she has to be ready to swing on every single point now.”</p> <p>The adjustment to her game has allowed Briggs to showcase her all-around ability. She has 404 kills, 302 digs, 62 aces and 29 blocks on the year.</p> <p>“It’s not just her hitting. She does a lot of little things for us,” Scavarda said. “She’s our best serve-receive passer, she scores from the service line and plays really good defense. She is one of those players that you can’t take off the court. She does too much and is way too important for us.”</p> <p>Briggs has Lake Orion as a top contender in Division 1 right now and she hopes that she can lead Western Kentucky to similar success at the collegiate level when she joins their roster next fall.</p> <p>“The coaches are amazing and the environment there is so fun,” Briggs said of Western Kentucky. “I love it there.”</p>