Clarkston Heading Back to Battle Creek But They Have to Play Better.

Written Tuesday January 12th at 9:45 PM

Clarkston had to overcome some adversity on Tuesday night at Lapeer beating Grand Blanc in four games 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, and 25-14 earning themselves a trip to Battle Creek for the first time since 2011.

The Wolves needed everything and then some against a game Bobcats team. There were some mistakes that Clarkston made that was very unusual let alone that the Wolves lost the first set despite being the overwhelming favorite in the match.

Grand Blanc played well throughout. They hung with the heavily favored Wolves for two more sets but they were spent in that fourth set which proved to be the difference.

I know Coach Kelly Pinner real well and she's one of the best in the State. The bottom line is that Clare Nowicki, Summer Jidas, Sydney Hasenfratz, Paige Gihtbrock, etc didn’t bring their best game on Tuesday night. There were some things that were off with them. This is something that Pinner needs to address with her team.

If they play like they did against Grand Blanc, I’m not sure if Clarkston can beat Birmingham Marian on Friday in the State Semifinals. The Mustangs just swept Macomb Dakota on Tuesday night and also earned a regional final win over arch rival Farmington Hills Mercy.

If Clarkston wants to get past the Mustangs in the State Semifinals and get to the State Finals they are going to need to play mistake free and play better.

That’s the bottom line.