Clinton Township

South Lake volleyball team bests Clintondale in playoff opener

By Jason Carmel Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Donna Agusti The Clinton Township Clintondale volleyball team was eliminated by the St. Clair Shores South Lake volleyball team in an MHSAA Class B district quarterfinal played Oct. 29 at Clintondale. Pictured is Dragons senior Brianna Harmsen. Photo by Donna Agusti The Clinton Township Clintondale volleyball team was eliminated by the St. Clair Shores South Lake volleyball team in an MHSAA Class B district quarterfinal played Oct. 29 at Clintondale. Pictured is Dragons senior Brianna Harmsen.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP - The St. Clair Shores South Lake volleyball team picked a good time to record its second win of the season, as the Cavaliers beat Clinton Township Clintondale 25-16, 25-21, 25-15 in a Michigan High School Athletic Association Class B district quarterfinal.

The match took place Oct. 29 at Clintondale and was the rubber match between two teams that split two regular- season meetings.

"We knew what we were going to see coming into the match because we've played them before," South Lake coach Liza Rogers said. "We wanted to be agressive and attack, and I thought we did that throughout the match."

The Cavs move on to face Macomb Lutheran North at 7 p.m. Oct. 31 at Center Line in a Class B district semifinal.

South Lake (2-11) led for the majority of the first game, taking over after the game was knotted at two. The Dragons (4-22) cut the Cavs' lead to three at 18-15 before South Lake went on an 8-1 run to close out the first game.

Clintondale held the lead for much of the second game and took a 20-17 lead before South Lake rallied, going on a 8-1 tear to take a 2-0 lead.

In what would be the third and final game, the Cavs jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led from start to finish in closing out the match.

"I was pleased with how the team came out to start the match," Dragons coach Michelle VanCamp said. "I thought they played well. We just played South Lake (Oct. 25), so we thought we'd be ready to go."

The two teams are members of the Macomb Area Conference Silver Division.

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