Source: Farmington Press
Author: Christian Davis
FARMINGTON HILLS — Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball coach Loretta Vogel could hardly contain herself.
Her squad just won a Class A regional championship against Birmingham Seaholm Nov. 13 at Bloomfield Hills Marian.
In fact, Vogel was so energized, she rushed the floor when her team scored the 25th point in the fourth and final game.
But there was one problem: that score only tied the game at 25.
“I was excited,” Vogel said.
The Marlins soon finished their match, allowing themselves and their coach to celebrate properly.
Mercy won 25-14, 19-25, 25-14, 28-26.
The Marlins then played Romeo High in a quarterfinal Nov. 18, after press time. The winner heads to the semis at 7:15 p.m. Nov. 21, and the state final is 2 p.m. Nov. 22; both matches will be played in Battle Creek.
Vogel said it’s always a goal to be playing in the final week of the season.
“We made it to the end. What an accomplishment,” she said.
Against Seaholm, Mercy trailed most of the final game, including 14-10 at one point. The Maples also were one point away from winning, leading 26-25.
“Our coach, in our second time out, said, ‘This is what we play for. This is why we play club. This is what we’ve been looking forward to the whole season,’ and that’s extremely correct,” Mercy senior Jenna Lerg said. “This is why we play volleyball.”
Facing game point, Kayla Fisher started the 3-0 run for Mercy with a kill to tie it at 26. Emily Crowley then stepped up and served an ace to give the Marlins the advantage.
“I knew putting her in, Emily Crowley, she’s not going to miss,” Vogel said.
Seaholm’s next shot found the net and ended the match.
“They’re a great team,” Seaholm coach Heather Lippert said. “They have great ball control, do some different things offensively with their size that we have not seen, and that caused us some struggles.”
Mercy went to 53-6-2. Its last regional title came in 2012, when Lerg was a sophomore.
“Getting this far, knowing you’re one of the last eight teams in the state, is such a special feeling,” Lerg said. “We worked so hard practicing every day. It’s just amazing.”