Fourth-ranked Marian dances into regional final with five-set win over No. 5 Clarkston
WEST BLOOMFIELD – Fifth-ranked Clarkston had won both its five-set matches in the regular season this fall, including one several weeks ago against one of the best teams in the state, Northville. No. 4 Marian, meanwhile, had a pair of four-set victories under its belt.
When Tuesday's D1 regional semifinal between the teams went the distance, it was the Mustangs who outlasted the Wolves 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 16-25, 15-8.
"Our playoff shirt, the back says, 'Refuse to Lose,'" Marian head coach Mayssa Cook said. "And we talk about the playoffs all season long, because I never want to stun a team like, 'Oh my gosh, now it's the playoffs,' and you can't breathe. So all season long, we're having these conversations. We scouted them at Beast of the East, watched film, and just had a good game plan going in, and even with that great game plan, they, at moments, played better than I thought they'd play.
"Really, tonight, I thought we raised our game to another level."
Raised any higher and Marian's night may have been over much earlier, but Clarkston made changes after the first two sets and looked invigorated in the third, leading by a handful of points roughly midway through. The Wolves were ahead 24-19 when Marian picked up three points in a row before Clarkston finished the game off to delay elimination.
Momentum swung even more to the Wolves' side with their fourth-set victory.
"It was a great game for (sophomore Josie Seets)," said Clarkston head coach Ali Smith, who mentioned that changing the blocking matchups was some of the impetus for mid-game changes. "In the third and fourth sets, she kind of put us on her back and took big swings. I thought we started passing better, serving tougher. We didn't serve very tough in sets one and two. We do a lot of things when we apply good pressure from the service line. When we don't do that, it makes it a lot harder to set up our defense. It's a simple game if you make it simple."
On the difficulty Clarkston gave her team, Cook said, "I was really impressed in the first two sets how we handled their service. I was seeing those coming over the net, and I'm thinking, 'Dear god, this is consistently the toughest serving we've seen all season. And we're a good serving team. I thought we were evenly matched as far as serve and serve-receive, but we've not seen a team service that aggressively all season, other than maybe us at practice.
The Mustangs steadied their serve when the match reached five sets to win their longest contest of the year.
"I'm so proud of the way we answered," Cook said. "I think that was a big character builder, to pretty much have your butt handed to you those third and fourth sets and then show up in the fifth like it was just another set.
"Ultimately, could it have gone the other way? Sure. They're an amazing team. But I'm proud of the way my team locked in."
Photo gallery from No. 4 Marian vs. No. 5 Clarkston D1 volleyball regional semifinal
Clarkston finishes the year with a 29-7 record and a district championship trophy after last week's sweep of Lake Orion.
"This is a hard one because I enjoy and love this group so much," Smith said. "They step up to the plate every time we ask something of them. Every time we try to teach them something, they're invested, and they work hard for each other. They get along well and support each other. I would have loved this win for them more than anything, but it wasn't in the cards for us tonight."
Marian advances to face Tuesday's other winner in West Bloomfield, South Lyon, in Thursday's regional final.
