Mercy’s Jess Mruzik adds Miss Volleyball to her collection

<p>It's been quite a two-year run for <strong>Jess Mruzik</strong> on the volleyball court.</p> <p>On Monday, the Mercy senior added another big honor to her trophy case, as she was named the 2019 Miss Volleyball winner.</p> <p>Mruzik was presented the award on Monday afternoon, recognizing her outstanding prep career as the best in the Class of 2020. She joins Maddy Doyle, who won in 2011, as the only two Mercy players to collect the honor.</p> <p>“Jess is just a special athlete and it’s been a real pleasure to watch her grow,” Mercy coach Loretta Vogel said. “We have been very fortunate at Mercy.”</p> <p>Despite a field of finalists that may have been as talented as any in the history of the award, Mruzik was the runaway winner, more than doubling the rest of the field in votes. Schoolcraft’s <strong>Andelyn Simkins </strong>was runner-up while <strong>Celia Cullen </strong>out of Brighton was third, <strong>Kendall Murray </strong>of Ann Arbor Skyline was fourth and <strong>Jordyn Gates </strong>of Grand Rapids Christian was fifth.</p> <p>Miss Volleyball recognizes a player’s high school accomplishments, but it’s hard to look past what Mruzik has been able to do away from Mercy as well.</p> <p>During the 2019 club season, Mruzik led Legacy 18-Elite to an AAU U18 national championship while earning national Player of the Year honors. She was named an All-American in club volleyball in both 2019 and 2018.</p> <p>“When she came to us, she was already a phenomenal athlete with a great skill set and she wasn’t playing volleyball year-round at the time, so I think she made a decision that she wanted to take her game to the next level and dedicate more time to volleyball,” Legacy Volleyball Center co-owner and Club Director Jennifer Cottrill said of Mruzik. “With her being able to focus on just improving at volleyball, you could see it take her game from being great to really being among the best in the country.”</p> <p>Along with leading Mercy to Battle Creek in both 2017 and 2018 and Legacy to a national championship, Mruzik was team MVP of the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team in the NORCECA Girls’ U18 Continental Championship in Honduras in the summer of 2018. Earlier this year, Mruzik was the MVP of the FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship in Egypt, where she helped lead Team USA to the championship.</p> <p>“It’s not just one thing that sets her apart. You need everything to be able to accomplish what she has the last couple of years. You need to have the athleticism that she has, you need to have the mental component of being able to continually challenge yourself, and you also need to have the leadership component,” Cottrill said.</p> <p>“Jess is very mature for her age and is willing to speak up when someone needs to lead on the court. Her teammates all respect her and she has a great relationship with all of her coaches. She also has that commitment to be the best that you don’t always see. Here she is, the best player in the country this year and she’s asking us to come in 90 minutes before practice to work on her serve receive and passing because she knows it can be better. Not many players that aren’t at her skill level will even do that.”</p> <p>Mruzik can add another championship to her collection this week, as Mercy is competing in the Division 1 quarterfinals tonight in hopes of winning the program’s first state championship on Saturday.</p> <p>“We try to be a team that doesn’t show emotions in tight-game situations and Jess certainly is a great example of that,” Vogel said. “Volleyball is a game that generates a lot of ups and downs and creates a lot of emotion, but Jess has played in so many different situations that noting rattles her. She is always very consistent with her play and her mindset.”</p> <p>Mruzik has been on the varsity roster all four years with Mercy and she will graduate in December before joining the University of Michigan volleyball program in January.</p> <p>“Her parents have done a wonderful job of allowing her to advocate for herself and speak for herself and learn how to figure things out on her own,” Cottrill said. “That’s why she has been able to handle the big situations with great composure. Any challenge she will face in the future, I know she is mentally prepared to take it head-on.”</p>