Volleyball Story Lines heading into 2015 and Early Top 10.

Written Thursday July 9th at 2:05 AM

1. Can Seaholm do it to Marian AGAIN???

Birmingham Marian and Seaholm are no strangers to each other and likely could see each other in the District Playoffs at Bloomfield Hills. The Maples return Lauren McCeod, Kate Carey, and Annie Schecteler for coach Heather Lippert. Seaholm went into Birmingham Marian and beat the Mustangs in the district finals for their second district title in three seasons (2012 and 2014, both at the expense of Marian.) The Mustangs eliminated the Maples in 2011 and went to the State finals in 2013. Birmingham Marian returns Delaney Backonen for coach Angela Kalczynski, whom will be in her third season since taking over for coach Irick Gardner.

2. Can Orion beat Clarkston WHERE IT COUNTS???

The Dragons do return five starters to a team that won 60 games last season for coach Tony Scavarda but this program has had a HUGE problem beating Clarkston where it counts. Last season was a complete disaster as Orion was swept on it's home court by Clarkston. Since 2011, the Dragons have beaten the Wolves ONCE and that was the State Semifinals in Battle Creek other than that Clarkston has owned Orion since including winning three straight district titles at their expense and also have dominated the Red as well. If the Dragons whom returns Kori Varney, Marley Redd, Leah Kalugar, Natalie Wehner, and Danielle Sargent want any sort of playoff success they must go through Clarkston and their top returnees Sarah Austin, Ashley Schwartz and Abbey Malinowski in the district to do so.

3. Can Stoney Creek Win a District Crown???

Cougars coach Mandy Moran returns Sammy Sattaman and Alexa Tomlak may have gotten a huge break and possibly win a district title for the first time in their history. Stoney Creek does not have Orion or Clarkston in a district or Romeo. They are in a district with Adams, Rochester, Utica, and Utica Eisenhower in a district where they need a host, I think Stoney Creek should host but if the MHSAA decides to put it where the Girls Basketball district would be, it would be at Utica. Utica returns a lot of talent this season and will likely be the biggest threat to Stoney Creek. The Chieftains will be led by Jessica Lodge, Natalie Suchoski, Gina Duff, and Danielle Kaschalk. Eisenhower fresh off their MAC White crown is also loaded as well led by Katie Hayes and Jillian Chambers. Adams returns a lot of experience led by Paige Staduacher and Madison Tuscany for Coach Irick Gardner and Coach Lauren Duquette at Rochester returns some talent as well, led by Maddie Hausey and Riley Gaber.

4. Can Troy Athens bounce back after a dissapointing district loss to Troy???

The Red Hawks do return some key players led by Alexis Van Hoef and Katie Scudder hope to rebound from a disappointing district final loss to Troy last season. Troy and Troy Athens will be split up this season once district play starts. The Colts will head southwest to Birmingham and deal with Seaholm, Marian, and Groves while the Red Hawks will head southeast into Macomb County with Royal Oak. The toughest team that looks to threaten Troy Athens will be Warren Cousino. The Patriots will be led by Alyssa Lee and some other talent coming back but Sterling Heights will have a say who wins the district but you got to go with Troy Athens here in the district.

5. Who will be that team South of Birmingham???

With apologies to Groves and Seaholm they will not be on this list. There will be some candidates that could contend for league titles and possibly a district. The district at Lathrup is anyone's ball game there with Oak Park, Lathrup, Southfield, Berkley, and Detroit Renaissance. Berkley returns Celia Somers but a team to keep an eye on is Harrison, they return two starters from a team that has a lot of expectations for coach Michael Love. North Farmington is included here because even though they are on 14 Mile, they are southwest of Birmingham. Anyway the Raiders will have a lot of experience led by coach Jessica Condeci. It's anybody's guess who will be that team south of Birmingham.

Inside the OAA Top 10.

1. Seaholm: When you return a lot of experience as the Maples do with Lauren McCeod, Kate Carey, and Annie Schecteler then your expected to do a lot of things.

2. Clarkston: Coach Kelly Averall Pinner returns three starters and will be there led by Sarah Austin, Ashley Schwartz and Abbey Malinowski

3. Orion: Dragons return five starters from a team that had a disappointing postseason last season. Orion will be led by Kori Varney, Marley Redd, Leah Kalugar, Natalie Wehner, and Danielle Sargent.

4. Stoney Creek: Cougars return the balk of their team led by Sammy Sattaman and Alexa Tomlak. The division will help them get ready for a tough district.

5. Oxford: Wildcats should be mentally tougher this season for coach Kristi McDevitt and that starts with Grace Wysocki and crew.

6. Troy: Emma Loken will lead a young group of Colts but the problem is they are in a tough division and in a tough district, talk about irony.

7. Troy Athens: Alexis Van Hoef must be ready to carry an even bigger role if the Red Hawks want to be successful this season.

8. Harrison: Stefanie Jankiewitcz and Mikael Coleman returns for a young Hawks team ready to make some noise in the White.

9. Adams: Coach Irick Gardner returns the balk of his team back led by Paige Staduacher and Madison Tuscany. The Highlanders moved up a division and could be in for a rough ride early like they were last season but finished strong.

10. Groves: The Falcons return Shelby Pitts and Anya Lev for a team that won a district last season for coach Jenny Brown but the road will be harder from here.