Source: The Oakland Press

Author: Dan Fenner

Farmington Hills Mercy concludes its pregame ritual just before the start of a Class A quarterfinal against New Baltmore Anchor Bay on Tuesday.

WEST BLOOMFIELD >> With a four-game victory Tuesday, Farmington Hills Mercy advanced to the Class A semifinals in Battle Creek for the first time since 2010, getting over the hump with a quarterfinals win against New Baltimore Anchor Bay, 25-17, 21-25, 26-24, 25-19.

RELATED: Photo gallery from Mercy vs. Anchor Bay

The Marlins narrowly captured the pivotal third-set after the teams had split the first two. Down 23-22, Mercy sophomore Jess Mruzik recorded three emphatic kills in a row to regain the lead and set up Lauren Hunter for the final point.

Jumping out to a 12-6 lead in the fourth game, the Marlins carefully closed out the match.

Up next, Mercy (50-7-1) will face its familiar Catholic League rival Birmingham Marian yet again. The semifinal will be played at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.

“We kept getting caught in regionals,” Marlins coach Loretta Vogel said, having lost to the eventual state champion each of the past three seasons. “We’re just ecstatic. It’s quite a compliment that you get to that point, to extend your season and be part of the Final Four. It’s wonderful for us at Mercy.”

Mruzik finished with a team-high 17 kills, while Hunter added 14 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Kayla Shields contributed 10 digs and junior Grace Kane notched three aces for the Marlins in support.

After taking the opening set, Mercy was challenged mightily by Anchor Bay, which was making its first-ever appearance in the state quarterfinals. The Tars featured Miss Volleyball finalist and University of Cincinnati commit Maria Mallon, at outside hitter, who helped her team fight back to win the second game.

Vogel said she anticipated her team would face an unexpected wrinkle Tuesday with one of her former players, Brittany McGinnis, coaching the Tars.

“I knew she was going to come up with something against me. We had played them twice before, so they know a few things of what we like to do. That was an impact for them,” Vogel said.

“I think we were precise. We’re not big cheerleaders. We play a lot of teams and they cheer, but that’s not our game. I expect them to be at one level. I think we realized on serve-receive where we wanted the ball to go. That made a difference. And what was crucial, right when they had the big transition, we started hitting our middle hitters. That changed everything. Mallory (Conrad) got kills and Charli (Atiemo) too.”

The Marlins remain a young team, with just two seniors on the roster. The program last reached the state title game in 2010 when it was defeated by Marian. At last they met, Mercy beat Marian for this season’s CHSL tournament title in October.

“One year I played Marian eight times, and then we played them in the finals. That just happens to be who we play when we go to Battle Creek,” Vogel said. “I’m assuming they’ve changed some things. We’ll watch film on them.”