Source: The Observer/Eccentric

Author: Dan O'Meara

Farmington Hill Mercy got a glimpse as to what the re-aligned Catholic League Central Division is going to be like this volleyball season.

The Marlins can expect every match to be highly competitive, just like the one they played Thursday evening with Dearborn Divine Child.

Mercy won the division opener in three sets – 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 – but the visiting Falcons were in every one and fought hard all the way.

"I anticipate you'll see most of the games like that, where there's a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm," Mercy coach Loretta Vogel said. "You're going to see a lot of that competitiveness."

In addition to Marian, Ladywood and Regina, the best of the old Double A Bracket – defending league champion Notre Dame Prep, Father Gabriel Richard and Divine Child have joined the Central Division.

"It reminds me of the (OAA Red) division for Lake Orion, Clarkston and Seaholm," Vogel said. "They're all in the same conference and that's pretty strong. For us it's nice having a strong conference as well."

It looked as if Divine Child might win the third game Thursday, overcoming a 14-9 deficit to take a 19-16 lead. Junior outside Emily Reedy sparked the rally with three big kills.

Mercy refused to fold, however. The Marlins tied it a second time at 20 with a kill by freshman Lauren Hunter and scored the last four points.

"In our third game, we completely changed our rotation, because I thought Kayla Fisher's hitting percentage had to be .700," Vogel said. "We completely rotated, so we could start her in a different spot and keep her at the net longer.

"We've never done that. When you have someone who's as successful as she was tonight, I thought that was pretty impressive."

The senior middle had nearly 20 kills and was a force at the net with her blocking, too. A lot of Fisher's points came on tips – light, well-placed hits - but she also pounded a few to the floor.

Senior Emily Crowley served an ace for the 22nd point in the last game. Fisher scored the 23rd with a deftly-made touch shot and ended the match with a hard, round-house spike.

"It was a very, very nice match for her," Vogel said. "She sees real well; she sees the court. She's been having a really nice season so far."

In the first set, the Falcons made a late push and tied the score, 21-21. Mercy senior Jenna Lerg made a big save below the net to keep the ball in play, and sophomore Bella McDonald ended the long volley with a tip.

The Falcons tied it again at 23, but junior Colleen Hadley restored the lead to the Marlins with a kill and Hunter won the game with another one of hers.

"In my five years here, I don't think we've ever had the chance to beat Mercy, and I think all three of those sets could have gone either way," Divine Child coach Sarah Schmitt said.

"The girls came out fearless, and I think that was the reason we had that opportunity, the chance to beat Mercy tonight.

"I think my kids did everything they could, and we're not going to walk out of here with any regrets. That's for sure."

Schmitt said the Divine Child serving was phenomenal and helped to throw Mercy off its game – put the Marlins out of system, in volleyball parlance.

"We knew they were going to have a lot of ball control; they were going to keep the ball alive," Schmitt said of the Marlins. "Our goal was to make as few errors as possible, to be quick on defense and attack from the end line."

The second game was just as close. Mercy had the 19-16 lead this time, but Divine Child managed to stay within a point down the stretch.

Lerg, who also was in the high teens for kills, put the Marlins ahead, 24-21, with back-to-back hits for points. After a Divine Child tip kill, Mercy won it when the Falcons mishandled a spike by Hadley.

In addition to Lerg's all-round play and Crowley's serving, Vogel also cited the role played by senior setter Shanleigh Conlan.

"Shan keeps everyone together," she said. "She's a senior; you can tell. We have seven seniors, and you could feel the composure. They've played a lot of volleyball.

"We concentrate so much on what we want to take away from the opponent, so I think their thought process is a lot about that. If they score their point, then you move on to the next one. You don't dwell on that."

Vogel also said she wasn't surprised by the strong effort put forth by the Falcons.

"Not with Sarah Schmitt as their coach," she said. "I thought one of the strongest parts of their game was going to be their serves. I think that's one of the things Sarah does real well. I anticipated them being strong from the get-go."

The Falcons started division play Tuesday with a tough loss to Notre Dame Prep, according to Schmitt, but they bounced back and had another strong performance at Mercy.

"We were really broken down after our loss at home Tuesday," Schmitt said. "They came out here and decided we had a chance and they went for it.

"We came off the court smiling and cheering. You might not have known we lost if you had seen us afterward. They're proud of what they did and so are we as coaches."

The Marlins, who are 28-1-1 overall and ranked No. 1 in Class A, have another big match Tuesday when they play at Marian.

"Like every year, it's a big game," Vogel said. "It's the state finals. They'll come at us strong. My list is long (as to) what I think they'll do. It's always competitive. When the game is on, the game is on."