Flynn Continuing to Prove Unique Among State's Best, All-Time Mercy Greats
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 3, 2024
FARMINGTON HILLS — It’s easy to roll one’s eyes when saying the Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball program has a unique talent in senior setter Campbell Flynn – because, well, Mercy is a traditional powerhouse that ALWAYS seems to have great players.
But even for an accomplished program like Mercy, it will be nearly impossible to see another player like Flynn come through its halls anytime soon, if ever.
Yes, it’s not often that a player is a member of the under-19 and under-21 U.S. national teams, committed to national powerhouse Nebraska and was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after helping lead her to the Division 1 championship.
But several tangible and intangible attributes make her truly exceptional.
For starters, she is a 6-foot-3 setter, which isn’t common. In high school – and maybe even for many college programs – that height would definitely qualify her as an outside hitter.
“Setters are usually a little smaller,” Flynn said. “I always wanted to be a setter, even when I was little. I knew I was going to be pretty tall, but I didn’t know I’d be this tall. I thought I was going to be around 5-10. I just knew I always wanted to be a setter.”
Mercy head coach Loretta Vogel said that height is noticeable before Flynn even touches the ball.
“She’s deceptively fast,” she said. “She’s 6-4 and she just moves. She just floats over the floor.”
In addition to her height, Flynn is a rarity among setters in that she’s also left-handed.
“It helps (the team) with hitting over on two and dumping,” Flynn said. “That’s definitely an advantage.”
Being tall and left-handed probably wouldn’t matter as much by themselves. But add the IQ and feel for the game that Campbell has developed since starting to play volleyball at age 5 — and subsequently at an elite national level — and it’s easy to see why she is so acclaimed.
“She has a great touch on the ball,” Vogel said. “Sort of like a quarterback and they know how to release it and do everything with the ball. Campbell is like that version for us in comparison. She understands the game very well. She’s very capable of reading the block and being able to give the ball to individuals who are open. Just that sense of the game helps tremendously.”
In winning the Gatorade award as a junior, Flynn accumulated 533 assists, 137 digs and 124 kills even though she missed 15 matches.
For those who were surprised that Mercy won the Division 1 title last year despite entering the playoffs unranked, consider the run coincided with Flynn becoming fully healthy.
She missed a good portion of last year’s regular season with a minor illness, but once she got healthy and was her dominant self, the Marlins never looked back.
“We just got so much momentum and we played so much as a team at the end of the season,” Flynn said. “It was just carrying us through all the games. We weren’t afraid, and we were pretty confident even though we were underdogs.”
This fall, Flynn is still hungry for more despite already seemingly accomplishing it all in high school volleyball, and with that scholarship to Nebraska in tow.
There might be a Miss Volleyball Award to win now that she’s a senior, and she’s still motivated to bring more team success to Mercy.
“I love my team this year,” she said. “Obviously, we are not the underdogs this season, but I feel we have a lot to prove. I’m really excited to prove to everyone that we can win another state title.”
Whether or not that happens in November, it won’t change the fact that when this season is over, even a powerhouse like Mercy will have a nearly impossible task to replace Flynn.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Campbell Flynn (28) sets Farmington Hills Mercy’s attack during last season’s Division 1 championship win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. (Middle) Flynn and her teammates enjoy a moment during their Semifinal win over Clarkston.
'Favorite' Just Fine for Monroe St Mary
November 9, 2018
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
MONROE – Karen O’Brien took the whole “rankings-don’t-matter” approach and threw it out the window this year.
And, for her Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central volleyball team, the method has worked.
SMCC took over the top spot in the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association Division 3 rankings in Week 3 after beating formerly top-ranked Bronson, the three-time reigning Class C champion.
The Kestrels appear to be thriving in the top spot.
“In my past years, when we have been ranked No. 1 or No. 2, I’ve kind of disregarded it,” said O’Brien, a veteran volleyball coach in her fourth year at SMCC. “I’d always say that it didn’t matter where we were ranked until after the season. But, this season, I took a different approach. This year, we’ve embraced being No. 1, that people are coming after us.
“We have a saying, ‘Embrace the Noise,’” she said. “The noise is people who are out to beat us. It puts a little more pressure on us, but I think we’ve responded well. Since our last loss, on September 15, we have won 25 straight matches. We haven’t lost a set during that time.”
SMCC is 44-3 on the season. The Kestrels captured multiple regular-season tournament titles, breezed through the Huron League without losing a set, won the District title and Thursday beat No. 10 Brighton Charyl Stockwell 25-15, 25-17, 25-20 for the 14th Regional championship in program history.
SMCC will move on to the Quarterfinals against fifth-ranked Manchester. Several ranked teams remain alive in the Division 3 tournament – but they are all looking up to SMCC.
“We’re looking at it like, ‘Hey, we’re glad we are No. 1. We’re ready. Give us your best,’” O’Brien said.
She said she changed approaches to the rankings because, simply, the last time the team tried to ignore being ranked No. 1 and it didn’t work.
“I’m always willing to try new things, a new approach,” she said. “If something doesn’t work, why not?”
Just about everything has been working for the Kestrels this season, starting with the right blend of four sophomores, four juniors and four seniors on the team.
“It’s a unique group,” O’Brien said. “There is a lot of unity and a good blend of personalities.”
Maddie Haut and Abby Jackson are the senior co-captains.
“Their leadership has just worked very well,” O’Brien said. “This is the closest group that I’ve had since I’ve been here. Everyone knows their role, they understand their role and they do their role well. There’s no selfishness on this team. That’s a huge part of (the success). All 12 girls know their role, and their parents know their role. There’s no drama with this group.”
Maddie Haut leads the team in blocks, followed closely by Kylie Barron. Maddie’s sister Mikayla is a sophomore with enormous potential and leads the team in kills, averaging 4.4 a set, and aces with nearly 90. Jackson averages more than 4.5 digs per set and senior Jessica Long and junior Sarah Reicker lead the team in assists.
SMCC has been able to have amazing focus all season.
“Volleyball is such a game of momentum,” O’Brien said. “Not just from set to set, but from rally to rally. We’ve been down in a set, and we’ve been able to come back. We’re pretty good at just rolling with the punches.”
O’Brien is a Livonia native and was the first female athlete in Stevenson history to earn nine varsity letters. She was a first-team all-state volleyball player in 1981 and also played basketball and competed in track & field. She played college volleyball first at Schoolcraft Community College and then at the University of Georgia. The two-time All-Southeastern Conference pick coached at Georgia for two years before moving back to Michigan and becoming an assistant coach at Michigan State University in the late 1980s.
She was the University of Toledo’s head volleyball coach for five seasons and later coached at Siena Heights University and served a couple of stints as an assistant at Eastern Michigan University. She coached the Dundee High School volleyball team for nine seasons and became head coach at SMCC in 2015.
Her and her husband, Dan, started the Teal Attack to raise money for the Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015. The program has raised more than $130,000 and has events at fundraisers at various Michigan high schools and colleges.
The Kestrels have won four straight District titles under O’Brien and played in the 2015 Class C Final, falling to Bronson in three sets decided by four points or fewer.
SMCC has been a state volleyball powerhouse for several years, winning championships in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2014 and producing several college volleyball players. A handful of this year’s squad will likely move on to the next level as well, including the senior co-captains.
The Kestrels have had some spirited practices this season, O’Brien said. While the first halves of practices often begin with routine ball-handling drills and teaching technique, practices usually end with some highly-competitive drills.
“We will go after one another,” she said. “The girls are competitive. I always tell them to make the other person better because that will make the team better.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTO: Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central coach Karen O’Brien instructs her team Thursday during a timeout in its Regional Final against Brighton Charyl Stockwell. (Photo by Tom Hawley).