FARMINGTON HILLS — With temporary courts set up on a football field, four of the state’s top teams playing under the lights and a DJ spinning hype music, there were plenty of cool things about the inaugural Michigan Volleyball Classic hosted by Farmington Hills Mercy last Saturday night.
However, one of the coolest things ended up being the weather, as players and fans bundled up throughout the clear, crisp evening as temperatures plummeted into the low 50s. Players took the court wearing leggings, and in some cases, full warm-up suits. There were space heaters placed behind the benches, and bench players wrapped themselves in blankets.
Mercy coach Loretta Vogel directed her team while wearing a heavy parka — a look that would be pretty unusual during more conventional Catholic League matches inside the school gym — yet she felt the event turned out well nonetheless.
“I just wanted the awareness for the sport of volleyball, promoting women in sports, and I wanted to have something that is different — and this certainly is,” she said. “It mimics a little bit of what Nebraska did in its stadium, and this was just a nice surrounding for all of us.”
The University of Nebraska staged a volleyball match on its football field in August 2023 that drew 92,003 fans — setting a record for the most-watched female sporting event. Since then, other schools figured they could attempt something similar.
“That was how we got the idea last year,” Marlins assistant coach Andrew Thompson said. “We didn’t think we were going to get 90,000, but we’d get some, so why not? I think you’ll be seeing it around the country — a lot of high schools trying to do the same thing.”
Mercy brought in all the other teams who played in last year’s Division 1 final four — Clarkston, Northville and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern — and scrimmaged on temporary “sport courts” constructed on top of the artificial turf at The Hawk Community Center (the former Farmington Hills Harrison High School about a mile northwest of Mercy).
“All four teams’ coaching staffs, we know each other, we talked about it from last year in the final four, and we thought what a great way to highlight girls athletics,” Thompson said. “We’d been planning this since February. We’d been having almost bi-weekly meetings until the summer, then it was every week. In June, we thought maybe we shouldn’t do this, but we went ahead, and it was good. We’re glad we did it.”
Northville put up a 2-0 victory over Clarkston (25-17, 29-27) while Mercy was swept by Northern (20-16, 22-20, 20-16). Vogel took the result in stride.
“I think it’s always a work in progress, just working through everything. It takes time,” she said. “It was an opportunity for everybody to get in and play tonight. We were just changing the rotation; it was a fun night.”
And the players returning from last year’s Marlin squad are buying in. In 2023, they finished the regular season just a notch above .500 before going on a tear in the post-season, culminating with a come-from-behind victory over Forest Hills Northern to capture their second state title in school history.
Saturday night’s event was more than a typical volleyball game, though. The high school events were preceded by an intra-squad exhibition by the Lawrence Tech University men’s team, and a CYO match pitting Rochester Hills Holy Family and Bloomfield Hills St. Hugo of the Hills. “DJ Invisible” — whose daughter plays on Mercy’s team — spun up-tempo music throughout the evening under flashing lights. Many in the large crowd sported glow bracelets. Inflatable bounce houses were set up for the youngest fans. Scores and lineups were displayed on a giant video screen at midfield. There was a 50/50 raffle, and admission fees went toward breast cancer research at the University of Michigan’s Rogel Cancer Center.
“It was a very good event, being able to bring in a lot of contributions for the cause,” Vogel said. “It ended up being a great night.”
But don’t simply take Vogel’s word for it.
“It’s definitely different, but it was like a fun different,” said Mercy senior Campbell Flynn, who coincidentally will attend Nebraska next year on a volleyball scholarship.
“It’s super fun to be with my teammates, relaxing and having fun, because a lot of work was put into this, like months of planning. Kudos to the parents and the coaches and even us, because it was super fun,” she said. “The anticipation was very high. We were pretty excited. We were a little nervous, but everyone was here to have a fun time.
“I was nervous that it was going to be really, really chilly, but once we got on the court, it was fine.”
And really, event organizers survived a close call. The weather was iffy while setting up the courts Friday night, and Saturday’s original forecast called for rain. Had that happened, the event would have been moved indoors.
“We got lucky — all of the Catholics said their prayers,” Mercy athletic director Brandon Malinowski said. “I know (Friday’s) forecast was brutal, and we were kind of worried that it would push into (Saturday), but I would say weather-wise, it’s just the cold air is probably the worst thing to deal with. But playing outdoors under the lights is a bonus, and it has the cool factor.”
Despite the temperature dip, Malinowski, Thompson and Vogel all said they would like to continue the event on an annual basis, and perhaps bring in additional teams. That would likely go over well with the coaches and players from other schools — some from as far away as Ohio — who came to watch.
“It was just amazing. I had so much fun, and it was definitely memorable,” Flynn said. “We were just really excited to play outside, and we were pumped to play a really good team. I had so many fun memories tonight with my teammates, and I just want to cherish those, forever.”
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