Source: Hometown Life
Author: Marty Budner
Mercy continued its volleyball mastery over Marian Tuesday evening.
The Marlins completed a sweep of the Mustangs in Catholic League regular-season action by winning in three straight games for the second time this year. The final scores were, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23.
Mercy also defeated Marian in two straight games in the Dakota Invitational in late August.
Although Marian has dropped eight straight games to Mercy so far this year, first-year head coach Mayssa Cook believed this was her team's best effort against its Catholic League rival.
"The scores were definitely better tonight," said Cook, whose starting lineup included three freshmen, two seniors and a junior. "But, I think the bigger indication is that we hung in there throughout the entire set. Whereas the first two times we played them, the first two sets they had a big lead early on and we never caught up. I think it was more neck-and-neck tonight.
"They have three amazing middle players and they can't go wrong with any one of them that they put in there. They have three or four kids who are stud outside hitters.
"Their bench is so deep. They essentially have two starting lineups that could beat almost any one in the state," she said. "They are well-coached and they are disciplined."
Rivalry is always heated
Mercy's veteran head coach Loretta Vogel was simply happy to get past Marian again.
"This is the rivalry between Mercy and Marian. We see this every time we compete against each other," said Vogel. "It's good volleyball and the level of play is high between the two teams.
"But, I think we're on a roll right now. Our passing could have been a little better, but we had a game plan and we were able to pick up on everything we thought they would do," she said. "We had one small area in the third game that we had to change and that helped us."
The seasoned Marlins, led by junior Jess Mruzik who played this summer with the U.S.National Team Development program, never trailed after going ahead early 4-3 in the first game en route to the six-point victory.
The second and third games were different stories as Marian had leads it just couldn't hold on to.
In the second game, for instance, Marian took a 15-14 lead. From that point on, however, the Marlins outscored the Mustangs by a 10-4 count to wrap up the victory.
Marian's unforced errors
Marian actually led most of the third game, soaring to a 22-19 advantage late in the match. Mercy rallied again by taking five of the next six points to win the game and match on a kill shot by Mruzik.
"We just had too many unforced errors," said Cook. "I think we did a better job of running our middles -- they were a bit faster this time around -- and I think as our middles continue to get better throughout the season, I think they'll be a big factor for us.
"We were in there. We were up by two, up by three and then at the very end we make the errors. Missing serves, tipping into the net, things like that.
"I think it's just the belief that we can beat them. I think we're still battling that of 'we are good enough to beat them'," said Cook. "And I think we will see them next at Catholic League and hope to push them to five before we see them at regionals."
Freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard led the Mustangs with 11 kills, while junior captain Christine Audette had nine and freshman Tatum Casper added seven. Casper led Marian with four service aces.
Mruzik led the Marlins with 16 kills while senior outside hitter Ella Louissia added 10. Junior libero Kayla Shields registered a team-high 14 digs while sophomore middle hitter Ellie Tisko was credited with 2.5 blocks.
Sophomore setter Julia Bishop contributed 28 assists.
"We've moved Ella to a couple different positions, but tonight she was strong and it was a nice night for her," said Vogel. "Jess had a few bumps and bruises (at the beginning of the season) and we sat her out for a week and in the tournament (against Marian). But, she is back now and in rare form. She gets better every time she plays."
The No. 2-ranked Marlins hiked their overall record to 30-2. The Mustangs, ranked No. 7 in Division 1, fell to 22-5-2.
Contact Marty Budner at mbudner@hometownlife.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MartyBudner.