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January 10, 2006Standouts Orban, Walton collideKingsley, Suttons Bay play in key conference battle
Orban
Walton
That was about it. The two seniors - Orban at Suttons Bay and Walton at Kingsley - are three-year varsity rivals in basketball and now volleyball. Each banged out 53 kills to help their respective teams win volleyball tournament titles on Saturday. Kingsley won its own invitational and Suttons Bay captured the Manton tournament. It did not go unnoticed by either player. "I was looking at all our stats and then I looked over and I was like, '53 (kills), I had 53,' " said Walton, a four-year letter winner in basketball. "That's pretty unique." "I always look at the paper to see how all the other teams are doing," Orban said. "I noticed that. For the longest time she'd always have a couple more so I was like, 'Wow, we had the same. That's pretty cool.' " The two standouts collide on Wednesday in a key Northwest Conference match when Kingsley (17-1-5) travels to Suttons Bay (20-4-4). The two teams split the league title a season ago. Both players are looking forward to another match-up on the court. "It's so much fun having someone with so much talent to be matched up against," said Orban, who is looking at playing volleyball next year at possibly Ferris State University or Alma College. "I like to be competitive," added Walton, who has signed to play basketball at Lake Superior State University. "It makes it more interesting to see what you're potential is and she's good competition." Of course, facing off against each other is nothing new since Orban came to Suttons Bay from Trinity Lutheran in eighth grade. "I remember getting matched up with her, not knowing it would be for the rest of my high school career," Orban said. The two coaches are also eagerly anticipating the matchup of not only the two players, but the two teams. "I think they're motivated to play against each other because they know the competition is good," Kingsley coach Dave Hall said. "This year they're obviously the go-to players, in both sports." "They can't wait to play each other," Suttons Bay coach Mike Kelly said. "There's a lot of respect there for each other." Orban's and Walton's volleyball careers are on similar paths, in addition to the same number of kills each posted on Saturday. Each team has won two tournaments this season. The Lady Stags captured the Pellston and Kingsley Invitationals while Suttons Bay won at Inland Lakes and Manton. Kingsley was also second at the McBain Christmas Tree Invitational while the Norse lost to the host school in the semifinals of the Leland Invitational. Walton and Orban - who consider themselves friendly foes - also were key factors as second-line hitters in helping lead their team to the state semifinals as underclassmen. Kingsley reached the Class C finals in 2004 when Walton was a sophomore while Orban and Suttons Bay reached the semifinals last season in Class C. The two three-year varsity volleyball standouts have also had to adjust to new setters up from the junior varsity. Orban is playing with two setters in sophomores Christa Nesky and Anna Prior. Walton is getting feeds this season from sophomore Brittany Denter. Kingsley and Suttons Bay met four times last season with each winning twice. The Lady Stags won the first two, but the Norse beat Kingsley at the conference tournament and in the regional final. "They won the important two," Hall said. Wednesday's match up will be the first between the teams. "We're pretty excited about playing them," Hall said. "We didn't see them at Pellston because we were in different gyms. I would expect a pretty good match with them." "It's going to be a lot of fun ... I think," Kelly joked.
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