Source: Hometown Life

Author: Marty Budner

Farmington Hills Mercy's volleyball team again reigns supreme in the Catholic League.

The Marlins defeated arch rival Bloomfield Hills Marian to capture their first Catholic League tournament title in six years Monday night at Madonna University. Mercy needed four games -- two of which went overtime -- to get past the Mustangs, 25-19, 27-25, 29-31, 25-13.

Mercy's last two Catholic League titles -- in 2011 and 2010 -- were also against Marian. The Marlins now own eight tournament crowns in program history.

Veteran head coach Loretta Vogel said it is a very satisfying feeling to have regained the Catholic League title.

"I'm still smiling, does that express it? We've been there a couple of times since (2011) but we just weren't able to walk away with it," said Vogel. "When you're in the Catholic League, it's important. It's something that is definitely a goal for us at the beginning of the season.

"It was a great night," she said. "And, as everyone knows, Mercy and Marian are big rivalries and that obviously added to the excitement of the evening. It was an honor for us to win the Catholic League."

The Marlins were led by sophomore outside hitter Jess Mruzik, senior outside hitter Lauren Hunt and junior left side hitter Logan Beyer. Freshman setter Julia Bishop also had a strong outing directing the offense.

"For us, we put together a different plan on how we wanted to play Marian," said Vogel, whose team defeated Marian in five games during their regular-season match. "We put together something I felt would be a strong suit for us. We were quite pleased with how everything worked out.

"I'm very fortunate. I have a group of athletes who are willing to change and look at different offensive systems. And, playing Marian, we had an idea who the ball was going to, what kind of defense we were going to run, and I think that made a difference.

"You know, when you have two teams that match up like us, everyone plays their best game," said Vogel. "We knew it was going to be close so we prepared ourselves for that."

Mercy (30-5-1), ranked No. 2 behind Rockford, now turns its attention to the state tournament which begins this week with district action.

The Marlins will play in the Class A district hosted by Southfield Arts & Technology, with their first match slated for 5:30 p.m. Monday against neighborhood rival Farmington Harrison. The district championship game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday.

The district champion will open regional play 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Farmington High School.

The Marlins will be seeking their 15th consecutive district championship this year. In addition, they have advanced to the regional title game or beyond eight straight times. The past three years, Mercy has been eliminated from post-season play by the eventual Class A state champion.

In each of the past two seasons, Mercy lost to Novi. In 2015, Mercy fell to Romeo.

"You sort of take credit in that the team that stopped us the last three years is the team that went on to win the state title," said Vogel. "But, it is really one game at a time when you get into districts. You just have to look at it that way.

"We do our homework. The team we face we know what we're going to do," she said. "We always scout them. That's why I say you just take one game at a time."