Lake Orion volleyball hope for a long playoff run
LAKE ORION, Mich — As the calendar turns to November, high school volleyball playoffs move forward full throttle. The Lake Orion High School girls’ volleyball team shifts toward the postseason looking to build on a successful fall campaign.
Lake Orion finished the regular season 25-13. They are now ranked No. 15 in the state of Michigan by high school sports authority maxpreps.com.
The Dragons also posted a perfect 8-0 record in Oakland Activities Association (OAA) division play while finishing first in Red League competition.
Their next scheduled match is away against local rival Oxford High School in a District semifinal match on Wednesday, November 3rd.
Head Coach Tony Scavarda has built quite a program in 10 seasons at Lake Orion. Scavarda won a Division 1 state title with the Dragons in 2018. Plus he is a National Coach at the acclaimed High Performance Volleyball Academy as well.
Junior Nina Horning is Lake Orion’s North Star. She is unquestionably their best player, leading the way for them. The outside hitter and middle blocker may be described as an offensive juggernaut.
She scored an eye-popping 435 kills in 2021-22, averaging 4.4 kills per set. In addition she registered a hitting percentage of 0.306, an exceptional average.
Horning has gotten some special recognition for her accomplishments. The Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association selected her for second team All-State honors in 2020. The spectacular striker has been heavily recruited and plans to attend University of Cincinnati.
“I think we can accomplish a lot this season. I think we are going to be the underdogs in a lot of big matches, but I think we have the talent to overcome that,” Horning told.
Team chemistry is a key intangible quality for the Dragons. Lake Orion features ten seniors on their 2021-22 varsity roster. Among them are senior setter Jaina Macaulay who serves as team captain. Macauley keyed Lake Orion with 252 total digs on the year.
Her classmate Hannah Lynch paced the Dragons with 30 solo blocks through October and 82 block assists this year. Lynch totaled 112 blocks through the regular season, which is nearly half of the team’s total.
Outside hitter Anja Roedenbeck adds another winning element. Her ace percentage of 28.6% tops the Lake Orion lineup.
Beyond that, fellow fourth-year setter Kara Delventhal plays a major part in the school’s success. Along with Dragons’ class of 2022 hitters Lauren Peters and Piper Talaga.
Also Lake Orion junior libero Malinda Brunk is a stalwart defensive specialist who
led the Dragons in sets played during the regular season with 107.
Coach Scavarda stated earlier this fall, “We have lost a lot of close matches this year. We have started to win some close matches recently, so hopefully things are changing for us.”
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