BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
MARINE CTY — After two years of walking off the volleyball court empty-handed, Auburn Hills Oakland Christian’s senior-laden team seemed determined to make sure the third time was truly a charm.
The Class D sixth-ranked Lancers, who spent the last five school years up in Class C and lost in the regional finals in both 2014 and 2015 to Brown City, staked claim to its first regional crown since 2013 Thursday night with a 3-0 victory over Sterling Heights Parkway Christian at Marine City Cardinal Mooney Catholic.
Oakland Christian made quick work of Parkway Christian, taking only a swift 54 minutes to dust away the Eagles by a 25-9, 25-19, 25-13 count.
“They played really well in that first game, very determined,” smiled veteran Oakland Christian coach Priscilla Larned, who is retiring from coaching at the end of the season. “After what happened last year…We were very disappointed in what happened to us last year. We had a very hard ending to our season. They were focused on getting back here this year and winning (the regional) this time — and not walk away like we did last year.”
The Lancers, who are now 41-4-5, will face unranked Portland St. Partick next Tuesday in the state quarterfinals at Lake Fenton High School.
Against Parkway Christian, the Lancers set the tone with a 6-0 run to open the first set and again posted a 9-0 run to begin the third set. Oakland Christian simply never even allowed the Eagles to flirt with an upset.
“We have seven seniors and we all have this goal for going far,” said senior Alexandra Gudobba. “As a team we are all really close and we are playing like a family, honestly. We didn’t want what happened last year (to) happen again. For us seniors, this is our last shot. Our coach and our assistant coach are both (retiring). We want to go out together with a special run.”
Gudobba led the Lancers with 17 kills and 17 digs. Fellow senior Marisa Mingle followed with nine kills, seven digs and two aces, Starr Sumner contributed 14 kills, seven digs and three blocks and Samantha Morse chipped in with 36 assists and six digs for Oakland Christian.
The Lancers, co-champions of the MIAC Blue Division this season along with top-ranked Plymouth Christian, are one win away from their fifth Final Four in Battle Creek.
“It’s been a goal of ours all season,” said Gudobba. “Just one more win away.”
Junior Emerson Krolewski led Parkway Christian with 14 digs. Erica Mick added six kills and four digs and Lauren Turner followed with five service points and eight digs for the Eagles.
“We played them twice before and we were hoping for a little better result this time,” said Parkway Christian coach Katie Decker, who will return 11 of 15 players next season. “But we just got beat by a very good team. We had a great run. We’re a young team. Not too many people thought we’d get this far.”