Waterford Our Lady sweeps Everest Collegiate in D4 district semifinal

AUBURN HILLS >> The Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes Lakers volleyball team defeated their rivals, the Clarkston Everest Collegiate Mountaineers, in straight sets 25-13, 25-17 and 25-13 in Tuesday’s Division 4 district semifinal.

“The girls really played inspired today. There were excited for this match up against one of our big rivals, Everest. They always look forward to the game,” Lakers head coach Stephanie Swearingen said.

The Lakers got out to a quick 9-1 lead in the opening set, and the Mountaineers never could substantially cut into that lead despite playing better.

“Really, with the team being this young, mentally our game is just not as strong as an older, more established team. So that’s where we get a little bit in our heads, and it takes us a little time to get out of that,” Everest head coach Gina Mirjah said.

Unfortunately for Everest, the Lakers were able to take full advantage of those occasional struggles, and a similar story would repeat in the second and third sets. Everest’s young team would hang around in each game, but sooner or later, the Lakers would get a run going and the Mountaineers just could not stop the bleeding in time. The Mountaineers would come closest in the second game, trailing 23-17 and serving, but a big kill from Quinn Robak made it 24-17 and gave the serve back to the Lakers to finish off the set.

The Lakers were led by a big night from Brooklyn Robak, who had 28 assists while orchestrating the offense. Alexis Koenig led the Lakers attack with 17 kills.

“She (Koenig) is our go-to girl. When we can get the ball to her, she is going to execute. She’s going to put it away, and it’s going to be fun to watch,” Swearingen said.

Nicolette Hynsi and Emma Marinelli combined for nine digs to pace the defense.

With the win, the Lakers move on to Thursday’s district final where they will face Oakland Christian for the third straight year.

“The juniors have really stepped it up,” Swearingen said. “They’ve decided that this season, as we’ve been getting toward districts they’ve been getting more focused in practice, moving their feet, working harder, and it’s really been a great boost for us because we’ve been up and down all season.”

Full photo gallery here: Waterford Our Lady vs. Everest Collegiate district volleyball photo gallery

Educating students in grades PreK through 12 for over 60 years, Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic School provides an educational experience grounded in Catholic Tradition, personal discipline and academic excellence. We offer small class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratios in a safe and secure family-oriented community. Weekly Mass complements a fully integrated one-to-one iPad program, championship athletics, K-12 robotics program, before and after school care, and much more!