Source: Hometown Life
Author: Colin Gay
Mercy senior Jess Mrusik lines up next to Genevieve Sale against Livonia Stevenson in the first round of the MHSAA volleyball playoffs. (Photo: Colin Gay | Hometownlife.com)
The Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball team stepped into the Farmington gym Monday night confident.
The Marlins came into the playoffs having been beaten in the state semifinals in the past two seasons, warming up with a sense that they expected to get there and, eventually, get past that point in 2019.
It did not take long for Mercy to get to the district semifinal, sweeping Livonia Stevenson in three sets (25-9, 25-18, 25-19).
The Marlins, which had just secured their third-straight CHSL championship, will take on North Farmington in the district semifinal at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday at Farmington High School.
"I thought we were pretty consistent," Mercy head coach Loretta Vogel said. "We were trying different things and actually trying different people in different spots."
No matter where senior Jess Mrusik was, though, she made an impact.
Trading points to start the first set, Mrusik took the serve for the Marlins, leading her team to a seven-point run that led to a dominant, 25-9, first-set win, setting the tone for the rest of the match.
No matter whether it was from serve or from the front, Mrusik found her way to the ball, showing her competitive nature she said defines her game.
"Every time I step out onto the court, I want to bring it, every single day," Mruzik said. "I think it's something that I like most about my game is that even if I'm not playing at my best, I still try and find another way to make the team better and make the people around me better."
Stevenson interim head coach Reeder Singler admitted that his team played "scared" in the first set, knowing it would be facing a perennial powerhouse in Mercy. Allowing two runs of seven points in that first set, the Spartans settled down in sets two and three and became a bit more competitive.
With Mercy coming out to a 9-3 start in the second set, Stevenson brought its deficit to within three, scoring eight of the next 13 points. However, the Marlins' consistency prevailed, securing a three-set run to win the second set.
Playing right along with Mercy for the first 16 serves of the third set, Stevenson shut down again, allowing the Marlins to take control on a nine-point run, a run that, despite the Spartans winning 11 of the final 19 serves, proved to be too much to come back from.
Holding a 15-8 lead, Mercy junior Madi Malecki hit the ball, ricocheting off the top of the gym. Cool, calm and collected, Ellie Tisko sat under it and volleyed it over the net with a smile on her face, leading to the 16th point of the set.
With three seniors and five juniors on the roster, the goal for Mercy, according to Mrusik, is a state title, plain and simple. It's the ultimate goal.
But right now, the expectation is to remain focused on the day-to-day, even though much of the day-to-day competition has led to dominance for the Marlins.
"We are taking it one game at a time, taking our time, leaving everything we have on the court every single game, and hopefully things turn out the way we want them to," Mrusik said.
Singler, on the other hand, was impressed with his team's performance in the second and third set.
"I think the girls came to a little bit of a reality and realized that even though they are a dominant team and they have been talked about all season, that they are a beatable team," Singler said.
That is why Mrusik and Mercy are not focused on the long term.
She said the Marlins are only focused on getting "one percent better each day." If that happens, the senior said, Mercy will achieve its long-term goal.
"We know, moving forward, that every single game is going to be tough," Mrusik said. "They are going to be after us, and we are going to be after them. It's going to be a battle."
Reach Colin Gay at cgay@hometownlife.com, 248-330-6710. Follow him on Twitter @ColinGay17. Send game results and stats to Liv-Sports@hometownlife.com.