Hartland volleyball looks to keep building after regional semis loss to Clarkston
GRAND BLANC — Hartland came away from the 2023 season with a district championship and a clear understanding of where the standard is set in Michigan high school volleyball.
The Eagles’ season ended with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 loss to third-ranked Clarkston in a Division 1 regional semifinal Tuesday at Grand Blanc High School.
Hartland ended with a 32-12-3 record, most of those losses inflicted by teams that populate the state coaches’ rankings.
Besides No. 3 Clarkston, the Eagles also played No. 2 Northville, No. 6 Brighton, No. 1 (Division 2) North Branch, No. 6 (Division 2) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and three other teams who received honorable mention in the final coaches’ poll.
“Hey, we set the bar high,” Hartland coach Dallas Wimbrow said. “In my first year as varsity coach last year, we didn’t play as many sets as we did this year. I played 35, 40 more sets this year by rescheduling. I would rather lose to top-ranked teams and prepare than play lower-level teams and win. Records really mean nothing to me. It’s preparing us for the postseason, and we achieved our goal.”
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The first set was tied 9-9 before Clarkston pulled away. The Wolves established big leads early in the other sets.
“We don’t really look at the rankings of teams and who we play, so they came into this with their heads in the right spot,” Wimbrow said. “They weren’t nervous. They played high-caliber teams throughout the season. That’s how we set our schedule to try to prepare us the best we could.
“Clarkston is a very talented team. They were clicking on all cylinders. I will tell you, of all the teams we’ve played, this is by far the best team we’ve faced at this time.”
The Eagles will have to replace eight seniors, including four-year starter Cameron Herman. Hartland expects to remain successful with seven players eligible to return, a group led by junior Grace Cooney and freshman Caylin Lindsay, and reinforcements from a junior varsity team that went 34-6.
“We’re just going to continue to grow,” Wimbrow said. “I’ve got some great girls coming back. We have some amazing new additions. I’m losing eight seniors, eight incredible young ladies. We’re gonna do the best we possibly can to fill their shoes. It’s going to be very difficult to do. I think with our process we’re doing, they’re going to do very well for us.”
Clarkston will face Flushing in the regional championship match at 6 p.m. Thursday at Grand Blanc. Flushing advanced with a 3-2 victory over Romeo.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland volleyball looks to keep building after regional semis loss
