The Orion Stars AAU 14 and under girls team took second place in the ‘Competitive Gold Division? of this year’s state tournament in Grand Rapids recently.
This team, made up of eighth grade girls from all three Lake Orion Middle Schools, and Kingsbury Academy, capped a very successful first year, as an all-Orion program with their success at states.
Lake Orion High School varsity volleyball coach Mike Hatch established the Orion Stars Volleyball Club in order to extend the available playing time beyond the interscholastic season, and expose the girls to a more competitive level of play.
‘It’s all about touching the ball and having fun playing volleyball,? Hatch said.
The Orion Stars 14U coach Tom Vigilant said he is ‘so pleased? with how well the girls came together. Each middle school plays its own offense and defense, and the team not only had to learn an entirely new mode of play, but they had to be able to play together in an incredibly competitive environment.
Prior to the state tournament, the girls won two Silver Division titles, and one Gold Division title, in tournaments leading up to states.
‘They peaked at just the right time,? said Vigilant.
The state tournament could hardly have gone better for the Stars; following a sweep of their preliminary rounds, the girls moved into pool play against first-place finishers from other pools. By the end of the first day’s play, the Stars remained undefeated and had assured themselves of a first or second seed in the tournament finals.
A loss to the ultimate winner of the tournament, the Shoreline Slammers, made the Stars the tournament’s number two seed.
Two more match wins pitted the Stars against the Slammers once again.
Having come so far it was disappointing for the girls to come up just a little short, but what they accomplished at the state tournament and during the season was impressive, Vigilant said.
Vigilant was assisted by coach Hatch, coach Tom Brown, assistant coach Rachel Conroy and Nancy Denton, who provided administrative and moral support to the team.
The girls? parents were also highly involved.
‘After 12 weeks, eight day-long tournaments, on the second day of the state tournament, I walked into an over 80-degree gym during a break in play, and found all 13 of the girls together.
‘How can any team that gets along that well under those conditions not be successful, whether or not they win?? said Vigilant.
For the 2005 season, coach Hatch is planning to expand the program to include additional age divisions.