St. Clair Shores

Grosse Pointe South volleyball team moves on to regional final

By Jason Carmel Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by David Schreiber The Grosse Pointe South High volleyball team knocked off Sterling Heights High 3-0 in a Michigan High School Athletic Association Class A regional semifinal Nov. 6 at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore. Pictured is Grosse Pointe South senior middle blocker Claire DeBoer (10). Photo by David Schreiber The Grosse Pointe South High volleyball team knocked off Sterling Heights High 3-0 in a Michigan High School Athletic Association Class A regional semifinal Nov. 6 at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore. Pictured is Grosse Pointe South senior middle blocker Claire DeBoer (10).

ST. CLAIR SHORES — The Grosse Pointe South volleyball team moved one game closer to the 2012 Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-21) win over Sterling Heights High Nov. 6 in a Class A regional semifinal.

The match took place at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore High. The Blue Devils (35-11-2) advance to face Macomb Dakota at 6 p.m. Nov. 8 at Lake Shore. The Cougars beat L'Anse Creuse in three games Nov. 6 at Lake Shore.

“I thought the girls played well. We came out with a gameplan and we stuck to it,” South coach Ryan Welser said.

The Blue Devils didn’t lose a game in the match, but the contest was close throughout.

The Stallions (25-14-4) held leads at various points of each game before South battled to win each stanza.

The Blue Devils took a 10-9 lead in the first game they wouldn’t relinquish. In game two, Sterling Heights High led 15-14 before South went on an 11-5 run to seal the win. The Blue Devils and Stallions traded points early in game three before South took a 9-8 advantage and held on for the win.

“We had a lead in each of those games but mental errors cost us,” Sterling Heights High assistant coach Kevin Bullis said. “We played well enough to win tonight but we couldn’t overcome some mistakes. Hats off to (Grosse Pointe South), though.”

The Blue Devils scored out of every timeout called by the Stallions.

"(Sterling Heights) made some adjustments over the course of the second and third games, but I'm glad with how we responded," Welser said.

In other volleyball news:

Clarkston defeated MAC Blue champion Utica Eisenhower in three games in a Class A regional semifinal and will take on Seaholm at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 at Rochester High.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jason Carmel Davis at jdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1107. Follow Jason Carmel on Twitter.