Source: The Oakland Press
Author: Drew Ellis
FARMINGTON HILLS – The Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball team is making it clear that it’s going to take a great effort to beat them in 2018.
The Marlins showcased their potential again on Thursday night when they defeated Catholic League rival, and 2017 Class A runner-up, Birmingham Marian in three sets.
“The team is playing well and playing together and I think they have strong beliefs in what they can do as a team,” Mercy coach Loretta Vogel said after her team’s 25-16, 25-16, 27-25 victory. “We are progressing as we should be and (Thursday) was another example of that.”
The Marlins have only been at full strength for the past few weeks as junior outside Jess Mruzik spent the beginning of the high school season competing on the U.S. Youth National Team in Honduras as part of the NORCEGA Girls U-18 Continental Championships.
Mruzik was named captain of the squad and earned MVP honors as her team won the tournament.
“She’s just a strong foundation for us,” Vogel said of Mruzik. “She took her game to another level during the training, but while she was gone it forced other players to have to step up and understand that we can’t rely on any one player. In that regard, I think it made this team stronger even though we missed her a great deal.”
The balanced effort was on display for Mercy Thursday as a number of players contributed to the win. Mruzik was part of a front line that include sophomore middle Charlie Atiemo and senior middle Mallory Conrad that got their hands on a lot of Marian spikes.
The Marlins set the tone with blocks in the first set and established a 7-2 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish on its way to a 25-16 victory.
“We had a certain thought process on what we wanted to do and I thought (the blocking) really worked for us,” Vogel said.
Marian was without one of its middles in 6-foot-2 freshman Sarah Sylvester, which left the Mustangs with much size to counter the Marlins. Freshman Tatum Casper was doing her part to fill in, but was newly converted to the position.
“We are really, really young in the middle,” Marian coach Mayssa Cook said. “We graduated all of our middles and so we have some freshmen playing the middle right now and one of them has never played middle before. But, she is getting better and better with each match.”
The second set was similar to the first as Mercy established a 19-9 lead thanks to the setting of sophomore Julia Bishop. Despite being a sophomore, Vogel has given full trust into Bishop and the setter is quickly establishing herself as one of the state’s best.
“Julia runs the entire offense and we play fast and she has a lot of choices to make, but she does a great job of making things happen on the court,” Vogel said of Bishop. “I, and the team, is very fortunate to have someone like Julia on the floor.”
The third set was the most competitive. Marian would hold a few leads before Mercy started to pull away. The Marlins led 24-19, but the Mustangs would fight off five consecutive match points before eventually falling 27-25.
“I think we may have had (Mercy) a little nervous in that third set,” Cook said. “That’s good. We don’t want to peak too early and I am pretty happy with where we are at overall at this point in the year.”
Cook is the third coach in three years for the Mustangs, which has led to some challenges early in the year as the players are learning a third system and third coaching style. Still, Marian has been winning a lot of matches and will still be a contender in the state picture. The team has a foundation behind Miss Volleyball finalist Maddie Dowd, a senior setter, and junior outside Christine Audette.
“I have a different personality and I can be a little crazy at times. I think the girls are now really starting to understand me and what the standards are going to be,” Cook said. “Just because a pass may go to the right place, we are going to talk to you if the form or positioning wasn’t correct. If you weren’t in on a play, we are still going to make sure you were in the right position and doing the right things. I think the girls are understanding that now and things are starting to really gel.”
These two teams will meet again on Oct. 2 when Marian plays host at 7 p.m.