Walled Lake, West Bloomfield

District drama: volleyball heads into the postseason

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Donna Agusti West Bloomfield High’s Alexandra McDonough (18) and Birmingham Seaholm’s Erin Neuenfeldt try to get the ball over the net in a Class A district opener Oct. 30 at Seaholm. The Lakers lost in three games. Photo by Donna Agusti West Bloomfield High’s Alexandra McDonough (18) and Birmingham Seaholm’s Erin Neuenfeldt try to get the ball over the net in a Class A district opener Oct. 30 at Seaholm. The Lakers lost in three games.

It’s playoff time in volleyball and local schools are in on the action.

Here’s a look at how each one fared in their district play and where they’re going next. District finals were played after press time.

The district champs moved on to regionals, which also got under way after press time. The regional finals are scheduled for Nov. 8.

Class A at North Farmington
Walled Lake Central fell to White Lake Lakeland 25-27, 25-18, 25-11 and 25-18 Oct. 30, but coach Cathy Johnson took away plenty of positives from the experience.

For one, this was the first time the Vikings won a game against Lakeland after being swept in their previous two meetings this season.

“No one actually beat them in a game in our entire league (Kensington Lakes Athletic Association North Division),” Johnson said. “When we won, I think the gym got a little loud. It was fantastic — the fact that we played a really good game on both sides of the net. Truthfully, I think both teams had a lot of fun. Yeah, they ended up beating us, but if you play a good match and lose, I’m OK with that.

“We played with them in all four games, so I don’t feel bad at all. We just couldn’t get over the hump to beat them.”

This was the first time all year that Johnson had a healthy roster. Battling a rash of injuries and illnesses, Johnson said the girls didn’t have much time to jell on the court.

“When you play next to the same girls every time, you know their movements, you know their strengths, so that was hard this year. But they all became diverse players, learning how to go with the flow. ‘We may not be in the lineup we saw last week, but so what,’” Johnson said. “It’s kind of sad to have it end, but at the same time, we played a good match.”

Lakeland moved on to take on Walled Lake Western after press time.

On the other side of the bracket, Walled Lake Northern fell to North Farmington in five games.

Class A at Birmingham Seaholm
The season came to a close for West Bloomfield High. The Lakers lost to Seaholm 25-16, 25-11 and 25-19 Oct. 30.

“We came out strong in the first set, but couldn’t put a string of points together,” coach Julian Wargo said. “We gained a ton of experience since the beginning of the season. It might not always show up on the scoreboard, but we always played as a team. I am very proud of that.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062. Follow Christian on Twitter.