Oakland County volleyball rankings
1. Birmingham Marian — Glad to see Abby Lovell is a finalist for Miss Volleyball.
2. Clarkston — The Wolves are in good position to repeat as OAA I (I know its Red now) champs.
3. Troy — The Colts are tied with Clarkston atop the OAA Red with two league games left.
4. Lakeland — The win over Walled Lake Northern was big last week in the KLAA North race.
5. Novi — The Wildcats need to rebound this week from a loss to Livonia Stevenson last week.
6. Milford — The Mavericks are the favorite the KLAA West now.
7. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep — The Fighting Irish have been solid, but have a lot of work to do if they hope to repeat as Catholic League champs.
8. South Lyon — A big game Tuesday against Novi that could establish them as the favorite in the KLAA Central.
9. Farmington — The Falcons need a win against Seaholm this week to stay in the OAA Red race.
10. Troy Athens — The Red Hawks have rebounded nicely from a horrendous 2007, and are still in the OAA Red race.

Honorable mentions (in no order): Birmingham Seaholm, Walled Lake Northern, West Bloomfield, Rochester

OAA Red heating up
The race for the OAA Red volleyball championship is going to be interesting, with two weeks left before the league tournament on Oct. 18. In years past the title has been pretty much decided going into the tournament, with a team being able to clinch by making the semifinals or finals. This year no team will likely have that luxury with possible ties dividing the regular season points.

The are all kinds of scenarios that could play out and two where four teams could tie for first place in the regular season.

Here are the teams left in contention and the remaining schedule
Clarkston 21-5-1, 5-1 OAA Red
Troy 23-9, 5-1 OAA Red
Troy Athens 25-6-2, 5-2 OAA Red
Farmington 26-9-1, 4-2 OAA Red
Birmingham Seaholm 4-2 OAA Red

Tuesday’s Games
Athens at Clarkston
Lake Orion at Troy
Farmington at Seaholm
Adams at Groves
Lahser — Bye

Tuesday, Oct. 14
Lake Orion at Clarkston
Farmington at Groves
Seaholm at Troy
Adams at Lahser
Athens — Bye

Clarkston can clinch at least a share of first with a win over Athens and a win over Lake Orion on Oct. 14. The Wolves can afford a loss and still tie for first if Troy loses at least one of its games.

The Colts also control their own destiny with a home game against Lake Orion on Tuesday and a home game against Seaholm on Oct. 14. A pair of wins and Troy clinches at least a share of first.

Farmington and Seaholm will need a little help to finish in first. Both need to win on Tuesday to have a shot, but since they are playing each other only one can win. If Farmington wins they need to win at Groves and have both Troy and Clarkston lose both of their games to win first outright or have them both lose at least once to win a share. The same applies for the Maples, who play at Troy on Oct. 14.

For Athens, it needs a win on Tuesday to have a shot at the league title. A win clinches at least a share of second place, but Athens needs Troy to lose at least one game to share first. To win first place outright the Red Hawks need a lot of help. Troy would have to lose both of its games, Seaholm would have to lose to Farmington and beat Troy, Farmington would have to beat Seaholm and lose to Groves and Clarkston would have to lose to Lake Orion. Follow that? I know it’s not likely but it’s possible. What is also possible is that if Athens loses to Clarkston it could fall as far as fifth place.

It should be interesting to see how it plays out and the league tournament should be very competitive, with all kinds of possible scenarios.

A glance at KLAA volleyball
The top two teams in the KLAA Central face off Tuesday when South Lyon (15-5-2, 3-0 KLAA Central) visits Novi (19-5, 3-1 KLAA Central). This game should have huge implications on who wins the Central. The Lions also host Livonia Stevenson on Thursday, while Novi hosts South Lyon East.

In the North Division, Lakeland (19-5, 4-0 KLAA North) is in first after defeating Walled Lake Northern (20-5-3, 4-1 KLAA North) last week. The Eagles host Walled Lake Central (6-10-4, 3-2 KLAA North) on Tuesday and play at Waterford Kettering (6-12, 0-4 KLAA North) on Thursday. The Knights host Kettering Tuesday and have Thursday off.

Milford (20-7-1, 3-0 KLAA West) is atop the West Division, with Howell (14-8-1, 3-1 KLAA West) and Pinckney (17-8-1, 2-1 KLAA West) right below. The Mavericks host Pinckney on Tuesday and Hartland (11-10-3, 0-3 KLAA West) on Thursday.

No Oakland County teams are in the South Division, but Liviona Churchill (23-3, 4-0 KLAA South) is in first, with Canton (17-4, 3-1) and John Glenn (7-3-4, 3-1) tied for second.

Miss Volleyball
The 10 finalists for Miss Volleyball were named just over a week ago. Two of the 10 finalists are from Oakland County. South Lyon outside hitter Kathleen Donehue and Birmingham Marian setter Abby Lovell.

The other eight finalists are Plainwell setter Rachel Davis, Midland outside hitter Lindsey Dulude, Jenison outside hitter Megan Hendrickson, North Branch outside hitter Olivia Kohler, Muskegon Mona Shores middle hitter Marie Roof, Jension libero Taylor Root, Grand Rapids South Christian outside hitter Jordyn Skinner and East Kentwood setter Megan Steenhuysen.