Clawson, Madison Heights

Lamphere volleyball defeats Clawson in MAC Silver opener

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Patricia O'Blenes Lamphere hitter Justina Peterson returns the ball in a match against Clawson. The Rams got off to a good start in defense of their MAC Silver title. Patricia O'Blenes Lamphere hitter Justina Peterson returns the ball in a match against Clawson. The Rams got off to a good start in defense of their MAC Silver title.

MADISON HEIGHTS — Defending Macomb Area Conference Silver Division champion Lamphere began its title defense in convincing fashion, defeating Clawson 3-0 to open up league play.

The Rams (1-0 MAC Silver) never faced any real danger, opening up a double-digit lead in each of the sets, en route to victories of 25-14, 25-12 and 25-13.

Clawson (0-1 MAC Silver) was able to put together some sporadic rallies, but falling behind in each set proved to be too much for the Trojans to overcome.

The serving attacks of Lamphere helped to keep Clawson at bay for a good portion of the match. Michaela Louis had 13 service points and six aces, and Lamphere coach Jamie Uhlmann believes contributions like that helped make the difference in the victory.

"Tonight, we served," she said. "That's been our nemesis for a while. Tonight, we had much better serving and defensive play, so that really helped. Our libero (Christine Ello) is a top-notch player, and she really did a nice job. First league match of the year, and we practiced for it. I told the girls I would like to go three-and-out, and that's what they did."

Lamphere hitter Sara Ormsby was pleased with the Rams' league-opening performance.

"I think it was definitely a key point to start the season off strong, so we can get stronger throughtout the season," she said. "I don't want to start it off weak and get stronger. I want to start it off strong, stay strong and get stronger."

Ormsby contributed five kills and three solo blocks for Lamphere, while Erin Denmark also added five kills for the Rams.

Lamphere is next scheduled to be in action at 6 p.m. Sept. 18 in a road game against Center Line.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mark Vest at mvest@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112. Follow Mark on Twitter.