Volleyball Recap: Northville Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Kate Byers and Giselle Burlingame

If Northville was feeling good fresh off their 3-0 takedown of Hartland on Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Mustangs came up short against the Clarkston Wolves on Thursday, falling 3-0. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Mustangs of the 3-2 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in October of 2024.

The loss didn't mean the game wasn't competitive: Clarkston scored at least 17 points in every set. The final score came out to 25-18, 25-18, 25-17.

Giselle Burlingame

Digs

09/11/25 @ Clarkston	14
09/09/25 @ Hartland	15
09/03/25 vs Adrian	12
09/03/25 @ Dexter	14
11/19/24 vs Bedford	15
+ 5 more games

Despite the defeat, Northville had strong showings from Giselle Burlingame, who had 14 digs and two assists, and Kate Byers, who had nine digs and two assists. Burlingame is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 11 or more in each of the last ten games she's played dating back to last season.

Clarkston found their leader in freshman Stella Smith, who had 14 digs and three aces. Those 14 digs set a new season-high mark for Smith.

Northville's loss dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Clarkston, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 8-1.

Northville didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 2-0 victory against North Branch on the 13th. As for Clarkston, they have also already played their next game, a 2-0 win against Rochester on the 13th.