WEST BLOOMFIELD — It wasn’t pretty at times, but Bloomfield Hills Marian had more than enough tenacity to turn away South Lyon and win its regional trophy en route to the ultimate goal, another state championship.
The No. 4-rated Mustangs (44-7) won 25-20, 25-15, 25-17 in a match hosted at West Bloomfield High School. Coach Mayssa Cook is looking ahead to the quarterfinal match Tuesday, Nov. 19, against No. 7 Utica Eisenhower (38-7) at 7 p.m. at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron.
“They beat us twice this year,” Cook said. “We want to avenge those losses, which I think we should never have lost.”
Marian had a 21-13 lead in the first set before South Lyon rallied to close the gap to 23-20. In the third set, South Lyon went on a 10-3 run to turn a 6-1 deficit into an 11-9 lead, the only time in the match they were ahead, though briefly.
“I’d like to see us maintain our intensity and level of play,” Cook said. “But we did a nice job spreading the ball around, getting kills from both ends, getting our middle involved a lot more, a defense that has become a lot more scrappy the last part of the season.”
Senior Izzy Busignani — a serious contender for post-season Miss Volleyball honors — led the offense with 20 kills. Sophomore Sophie Smith had five kills and three blocks. Junior Jayla Zayti had five kills and a pair of blocks. Junior setter Allie Davidson had 26 assists.
Marian has won five state crowns, including a three-peat in 2020-21-22. Bracketed by Farmington Hills Mercy’s championships in 2019 and 2023, that gives the Catholic High School League Central Division dominance the last five years.
No. 1 Mercy’s hopes of repeating were crushed by No. 2 Northville in a regional semifinal, 28-26, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 18-16 .
“Both teams brought the best out of each other,” Mercy coach Loretta Vogel told the media. “We had a plan coming in and we worked it the best we could. We just ended up two points short.” Mercy closed with a 30-3 record.
Two other CHSL squads are still in action.
Dearborn Divine Child (23-13) swept Detroit Edison, 3-0, for a regional title. The Falcons, who enjoyed playing the district and regional games on their own floor, will have to travel to Milan to meet No. 7 Tecumseh (46-1-1) in a Division 2 quarterfinal match on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
The defending Division 4 champ, No. 1 Clarkston Everest Collegiate (35-0-1), bested No. 4 Fowler (24-11-1) 25-21, 25-16, 25-16 for a regional title. The first set was tight throughout. The match was tied at 20 before Everest scored five of the next six points to close out the victory. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 11-3 lead in the second set and a 10-4 advantage in the third set.
Everest will meet No. 9 Ubly on Tuesday, Nov. 19, in a quarterfinal match at Mott Community College in Flint.
The semifinals and finals will be played at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
If Marian and Everest win, they will advance to the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 21. If Divine Child wins, it will play its semifinal on Friday, Nov. 22.
The championship matches for all classes will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
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