MADISON HEIGHTS — There’s a familiar face in the CHSL volleyball roster of champions, and a brand new one at the conclusion of championship play Tuesday evening, Oct. 29, staged at Bishop Foley High School.
Farmington Hills Mercy, the state’s No. 1 squad, won its third consecutive Central Division (Bishop Trophy) title, downing archrival Bloomfield Hills Marian in three sets.
Macomb Lutheran North made its first appearance in the Double A (Cardinal Trophy) a memorable one by eliminating Warren Regina.
Mercy sweeps 25-17, 25-21, 25-7
It’s simply an exhausting experience going up against Mercy’s high-powered team. They just keep coming at you.
Marian found that out for the fourth time this fall — three times in the league, once in a tournament.
“We couldn’t control the ball enough,” Mustangs coach Mayssa Cook said.
She referenced the second set, a nip-and-tuck affair in which the score was tied more than a dozen times; Marian couldn’t hold on to 9-7 and 10-8 leads.
Mercy coach Loretta Vogel echoed a similar refrain: “We couldn’t pass the ball.”
Junior Ellen Tisko’s kill — one of nine she had for the match — put the Marlins in front, 17-15, an edge they expanded to the four-point victory margin.
Ball control wasn’t an issue for Marian in the first and third sets because Mercy wouldn’t give it up.
All Catholic, All State, All World 6-foot-1 senior Jessica Mruzik set the tone with three kills in the opening moments. She had 11 for the match, one of them a bazooka that literally knocked Marian’s 5-foot-4 freshman libera, Lauren Heming, off her feet.
Mercy delivered a knockout in the third set, firing out to a 13-1 lead, then 21-3, before Tisko dealt a kill to end Marian’s misery.
“The second set was typical of how hard we played Mercy in earlier games this year,” Cook said. “I used three sophomores, three freshmen and a lone senior. We made a lot of mistakes.”
With the state tournament beginning next week (Mercy will play Livonia Stevenson on Nov. 4; Marian opens two days later), Vogel said, “Everyone is a little sore and hurting now at this time of the year, but there are a lot of little things we have to work on.”
A state championship is on Mruzik’s bucket list.
“We have to take it one game at a time,” she said. “We learned last year losing in the semifinal we were looking too far ahead. We have to stay focused and together.”
Lutheran North 25-20, 17-25, 25-16, 25-18
“We believed we could do it,” Lutheran North coach Jessica Lancaster said amidst all the celebrating.
Plain and simple. That credo inspired Lutheran North to make history.
“Last year we finished third,” Lancaster said. “This is a big accomplishment.”
Regina started the match breaking out to a 6-1 lead. The Mustangs chipped away, finally going ahead 15-14 on a block by Kiley Comiskey. Madison Hampel’s ace and Savannah Schwarzwalder’s tip provided the decisive winning margin.
In the second set, the Saddlelites again had another fast start, 8-2, but this time didn’t give it up. They closed with a four-point flourish on a combination of blocks by Margaret Peitz and Heather Broski, a North service error, and a kill by Samantha Klausing.
Lutheran North senior Kennedy Dolmage played the libero position for her first three years on the varsity. When the outside hitter spot opened through graduation, “I volunteered,” she said.
“She’s become our leader on the court,” Lancaster said. “I consider her an assistant coach.”
The Mustangs controlled their own destiny the rest of the way. Dolmage had three kills and a service ace down the stretch of the fourth and deciding set.
Dolmage, who will continue her volleyball career at Oakland University next fall, wound up with 18 kills and 15 digs. Senior Katelyn Petersdorf had 39 assists.
“We gave up a lot of points through errors,” Regina coach Liz Stibich said. “I think playing in a super-crowded gym might have had some effect on a young team. We have to learn the dynamics of managing such situations.”
Lutheran North plays Detroit Country Day on Nov. 4 in the state tournament. Regina meets Warren Lincoln on Nov. 6.
