Source: The Detroit News
Author: David Goricki
Jess Mruzik couldn’t hold back the tears this past July when she learned she had made the United States Youth National Volleyball Team at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Mruzik, a 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter at Farmington Hills Mercy, was among 20 players competing for 12 spots for the U.S. Youth Team that would be competing in Honduras to try and help the team qualify for the World Championships next summer.
Mruzik didn’t just earn a spot on the U.S. team; she also was named a captain and then earned MVP honors for leading her team to the 2018 NORCECA Girls U-18 Continental Championship.
Mruzik is The Detroit News' No. 1 area player for the 2018 volleyball season. She will try to help Mercy return to Battle Creek to compete in the state finals after falling to Birmingham Marian in last year’s Class A semifinals.
“We were in Honduras for 10 days competing against central, north and southern American teams,” said Mruzik, noting the journey began Aug. 24 and ended when she returned home Sept. 2. “We flew down to Houston, that was our meeting place, stayed the night there and practiced at a local club and then the next day we were in Honduras. We played six days and it was an unreal experience.
“You think you’re good playing against other high school and club teams and then you go play internationally and it’s a whole different ball game. Not even playing against international teams, but just training with some of the best girls in the country that were on my team and you could tell the difference from how I started to how I finished.
“After playing against all the international teams you get a taste of what good is really like, so coming here I’m setting my personal expectations really high. I want to reach the highest level possible so I’m just trying to help out my team the best I can with taking some of the things I learned with playing for USA and bringing them back here.”
The versatile Mruzik says improving her serve receive is a big goal for this season.
“Serving and passing has really impacted the game and it will win you or lose you matches, so I think that anyone can improve on that all the time no matter how good you are," she said.
“I think my strength is being able to stay in six rotations, play front row and back row. Internationally you only get six subs so you have to stay on the court, and it’s valuable to teams now to have people that can go all the way around.”
Mercy co-coach Andrew Thompson knows he has a special player in Mruzik.
"When I found out she made the U.S. Youth National Team I wasn't surprised," said Thompson. "It validated everything I already knew. The sky is the limit for her, and aside from volleyball, she's a great kid."
Mruzik has been a Michigan commit since the start of her sophomore season.
“I was pretty heavily recruited when I was young and I grew up a die-hard Michigan fan so any college I visited, it was nothing like Michigan," she said. "The family atmosphere that the coaches and staff provide for you and the fan base, there’s nothing like it.”
Mruzik dreams of making the U.S. Olympic team one day. She has made the first step and plans on playing on the U.S. Youth team again next summer before hoping to land a spot on the U.S. junior national team and then ultimately the senior team.
“You do two years in each group, pretty much a feeder program for the Olympics,” said Mruzik. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Olympics since I was a little kid.”
7. Julia Bishop, 5-10, So., S, Farmington Hills Mercy
Bishop stepped right in and helped Marian reach the Class A state title match while running the offense her freshman year. She is already being recruited by a number of Big Ten schools.
“She ran our offense last year and is doing an even better job this year,” Mercy co-coach Andrew Thompson said. “She’s one of the biggest competitors whether it’s in practice or games. She can raise the level for our kids and makes everyone else around her better.”