Top-ranked Mercy tops Saline to win Lake Orion Tournament
WATERFORD – The Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball team is our preseason top-ranked team in Division 1 and the Marlins showed why on Saturday. Posting a 6-0 record on the day, Mercy won the gold bracket of the Lake Orion Tournament…
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Continue ReadingWATERFORD – The Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball team is our preseason top-ranked team in Division 1 and the Marlins showed why on Saturday.
Posting a 6-0 record on the day, Mercy won the gold bracket of the Lake Orion Tournament on Saturday from Elite Sports in Waterford, besting Saline in the championship match by scores of 25-15, 25-16.
“Being the first Saturday we were playing, we were throwing in a lot of different people in to see what would work. As the day progressed, I thought you could see the girls all really working together and I was pleased with that,” Marlins coach Loretta Vogel said.
Jess MruzikMercy, a D1 semifinalist in 2018, has a loaded and experienced roster this year despite having just two seniors on the squad in Jess Mruzik (Michigan) and Genevieve Sale, a pair of outside hitters. They also have veteran varsity players in junior setter Julia Bishop (Michigan State), junior middle Charli Atiemo, junior middle Ellie Tisko and junior DS Maddi Malecki.
“We are very fortunate,” Vogel said of her returning talent. “We didn’t have a lot of chemistry to develop or rust to shake off. We were able to really attack things right away from the first practice.”
The chemistry of Mercy showed throughout the day, but especially in the semifinals and finals of Saturday’s gold bracket. In the semifinals, Mercy defeated Brighton by scores of 25-17, 25-7 and then led throughout its final with Saline.
Kaija SydlowskiThe Hornets were game in the championship, but just couldn’t put together enough consistent scoring rallies to keep pace with Mercy. Kaija Sydlowski was a consistent go-to option on the outside for Saline in the final while Emma Rigg was strong in the middle against Mercy’s powerful attack. Saline has a lot of depth defensively and it kept the Hornets in some long points.
“I think we really surprised ourselves in bracket play compared to how we did in pool play. We finally started to play to our ability, especially at the net defensively with more blocks and touches,” Saline coach Emileen Palka said. “Our defense really gave their all and played great. If we can get this kind of effort all year, we are going to have a great season.”
Saline earned wins over Northville (29-27, 25-16), Detroit Country Day (25-19, 25-20) and Grand Blanc (25-15, 25-17) to reach the final. The Hornets graduated seven seniors from its 2018 team, so Palka was really excited to see her inexperience team perform so well on Saturday.
“We may not be the biggest or deepest team right now, but this shows that we can compete with the best teams out there,” Palka said. “We graduated seven seniors, so we are kind of a young team that has a lot of building to do, but I think we can be very successful as we continue to develop and improve together.”
Mercy got its toughest challenge of the day in the quarterfinals when a feisty Oxford team took it to three sets. The Marlins won the opener 25-23 after the Wildcats had a late surge to make it interesting. Oxford then took that momentum and won the second set, 25-22, using their length to really pose a challenge to Mercy’s attacks. The third set saw Mercy win 15-5, showing their ability to turn up the intensity when they need to.
“We have amazing leadership on this team and they are all reminding the younger girls to practice with a purpose,” Vogel said. “Everyone has bought into the team this year and is focused and together. That’s a credit to the great leadership we have.”
Saturday was Mercy’s lone opportunity to play with a full compliment of players for a while, as Mruzik is set to travel to Cairo, Egypt this week to play with the U.S. Girls Youth National Team. The Marlins will have to play without her for nearly a month.
“This is the only time we get her until she goes to Egypt, so it was good to see her in the mix today,” Vogel said of Mruzik. “It’s just a wonderful opportunity for her and we couldn’t be happier and prouder of her. For us, it just means some kids are going to have to step up. That’s always the challenge, finding new players to step up.”
Lake Orion Tournament Results
Pool Play (set records)
A: Mercy 6-0; Traverse City Central 3-3, Lakeland 3-3, Chandler Park Academy 0-6
B: Country Day 5-1, Lake Orion 4-2, L’Anse Creuse 0-6
C: Grand Blanc 5-1, Northville 5-1, Groves 2-4, Grosse Pointe South 0-6
D: Brighton 5-1, Oxford 4-2, Holly 3-3, Berkley 0-6
E: Rochester Adams 6-0, Lapeer 4-2, St. Catherine Academy 2-4, Plymouth Christian 0-6
F: Bloomfield Hills 5-1, Saline 4-2, Hartland 2-4, Troy Athens 1-5
Gold Bracket First Round
Oxford def. Lapeer, 25-18, 25-13
Rochester Adams def. Traverse City Central, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12
Saline def. Northville, 29-27, 25-16
Bloomfield Hills def. Lake Orion, 25-11, 19-25, 15-13
Gold Bracket Quarterfinals
Mercy def. Oxford, 25-23, 22-25, 15-5
Brighton def. Rochester Adams, 25-15, 25-20
Saline def. Detroit Country Day, 25-19, 25-20
Grand Blanc def. Bloomfield Hills, 18-25, 25-23, 15-9
Gold Bracket Semifinals
Mercy def. Brighton, 25-17, 25-7
Saline def. Grand Blanc, 25-15, 25-17
Gold Bracket Final
Mercy def. Saline, 25-15, 25-16
Silver Bracket First Round
Plymouth Christian def. Berkley
Troy Athens def. Grosse Pointe South
Hartland def. Chandler Park Academy
Silver Bracket Quarterfinals
Lakeland def. Plymouth Christian
Holly def. St. Catherine Academy
Troy Athens def. L’Anse Creuse
Hartland def. Groves
Silver Bracket Semifinals
Lakeland def. Holly
Troy Athens def. Hartland
Silver Bracket Final
Lakeland def. Troy Athens, 22-25, 25-18, 15-7