Marian hands Mercy its first loss of season in CHSL final
Birmingham Marian has been one of the top volleyball teams in the state in recent years.
That just wasn’t as evident as the Mustangs struggled to get the spotlight from CHSL rival Farmington Hills Mercy.
Since defeating Mercy in the 2017 state semifinals, the Mustangs have lost 13 consecutive matches against the Marlins. In that time, Mercy won the 2019 Division 1 state championship.
This year, No. 3 Marian lost all six sets it had played against topranked Mercy.
Still, the Mustangs held belief that they were a team that could beat the defending champs.
On Tuesday, Marian did just that.
In the 2020 CHSL Bishop Championship match at Bishop Foley, the Mustangs came away with a 19-25, 28-26, 12-25, 25-20, 15-8 victory. It was the first loss of the 2020 season for the Marlins.
“The girls did what we knew they were always capable of do
ing,” Marian coach Mayssa Cook said of the win over Mercy. “I say this very humbly, that I don’t believe we played our ‘A’ game ( Tuesday). I think we can still play better, which should give these girls a lot of confidence. Mercy is a great team and obviously the rivalry adds something more to it. I’m just glad our girls were able to execute and finish the job to see for themselves that they could do it.”
The Mustangs found themselves behind a set on two different occasions Tuesday.
Mercy took the opener 25-19 after opening the match with a 5-1 run.
In the second set, Mercy fought off three different set points for the Mustangs before Marian junior Ava Brizard gave her squad a 27-26 advantage. A block then ended the set at 28-26 to even the match at a set apiece.
“Anytime we play Marian, it’s always going to be a competitive match,” Mercy coach Loretta Vogel said. “It’s a game of momentum and we had a few little errors that you can’t do against a good team like Marian.”
Mercy responded to the set loss with a dominant third, taking a 19-8 advantage that eventually turned into a 25-12 victory.
The Marlins would build up a 14-11 lead in the fourth as they looked to close things out, but a timeout
from Cook got the Mustangs on track.
“We called a timeout and I just told the girls that, ‘ it’s now or never,’” Cook said. “We had nothing to lose at that point and the girls really responded.”
Thanks to some strong serving from sophomore Ella Schomer, the Mustangs turned the 14-11 deficit into a 21-16 advantage. That’s all the momentum Marian needed to force a fifth.
In the final frame, Marian established a 7-3 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish. Sophomore setter Ava Sarafa was mixing up feeds to the likes of Brizard, Schomer, junior Sophia Treder and junior Sarah Sylvester.
“We spread the ball really well,” Cook said. “We have been working hard on developing all of our attackers. That’s what we have been stressing, to develop every hitter. I think that is what has helped us take our game to another level.”
Marian closed out the match by scored the final five points to claim the CHSL title.
Mercy was led on the night by their strong senior class that includes Miss Volleyball finalists, setter Julia Bishop and middle Charli Atiemo.
“You wear a big target and people see it all the time,” Vogel said of her team. “We just need to respond. Lesson learned ( Tuesday), now it is about how we regroup and respond.” These two could very well meet again in the upcoming weeks, as they would be paired together in a regional.”