Mendon Extends Reign with D4 Repeat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2019
BATTLE CREEK – All Heather Bowers does is win MHSAA titles.
The second-year Mendon volleyball coach is now 2-for-2 at Kellogg Arena, as her Hornets defeated Leland for the second straight year – this time 25-17, 25-19, 27-29, 25-14 – on Saturday in the Division 4 Final.
“The hard work these girls have put in, I just can’t say how proud I am of them,” Bowers said. “It was a completely different group with a completely different dynamic, but the same work ethic and the same drive and will to win.”
Last year’s title was the first since 2001 for the Hornets (40-9-6). But even after losing six seniors, this year’s group came in with experience winning on the Kellogg floor led by junior Anna Smith. She was dominant for the second straight year, with 22 kills, 13 digs and four aces.
“The fact of the matter is she can score at will against our team – against any team. I haven’t seen anybody shut her down,” Leland coach Laurie Glass said. “She has all the shots. She gets up there and she sees tips, she sees the corner, she sees the line, she sees the cross. At this level, not a lot of D4 schools have kids that can do all of that at will. She’s super talented, and it’s unfortunate for us that she’s a junior and will be returning next year.”
Smith was the main target for Hornets setter Gracie Russell, who finished with 41 assists. But Russell spread the ball around, keeping the Leland defense guessing. Senior Taylor Heitkamp was second on the team with 12 kills.
“We knew (the Comets) were such a balanced team that we had to be one, too,” Bowers said. “We all showed up, we all got involved. It was amazing. It was a great group effort.”
Leland’s attack was three-pronged, led by junior Tatum Kareck with 15 kills, senior Gillian Grobbel with 13 and Olivia Lowe with 11. Jana Molby had 37 assists for the Comets (44-15-3).
But a strong Hornets defense held Leland to an overall .128 attacking percentage. Mendon finished with eight total blocks, led by five assists and one solo from junior Andrea Hoffman.
“Leland’s always had really strong hitters, so we know that we have to defend our back row so they can have our backs, too,” Hoffman said. “You have to put up a big block to run your offense, and we did.”
Leland won the first four points of the match, but the momentum was short-lived, as Mendon won 13 of the next 16 to take control. The Mendon lead got as high as 13-7 after a pair of aces from Smith, which forced Leland to call a timeout.
While the timeout stopped play, it didn’t swing the momentum, as the Hornets kept Leland at arm’s length on its way to a first-set victory.
The Hornets never trailed during the second set, leading by as many as eight (24-16).
Leland built an 18-12 lead in the third set, gaining momentum from an unlikely play. With her team trailing 6-4, Lowe dug a powerful Smith spike with her face, and the Comets wound up getting the better of what turned into a long rally.
The Comets had set point at 24-19, but Mendon senior defensive specialist Juliana Hagenbuch served her team back into the match and gave the Hornets a match point opportunity at 25-24. But Leland bounced back to close out the set and force a fourth.
Mendon took control of the fourth set early, leading 12-6 and forcing a Leland timeout. Thanks to incredible back-line play from sophomore Isabella Smith and Hagenbuch, the timeout wasn’t able to stop the Mendon roll, as the Hornets continued to stretch their lead. Hagenbuch finished with 19 digs, while Smith had 12.
“I think they put up a strong block today, so it was really easy to stay off their shoulder and pick up balls that they touch or they block,” Hagenbuch said. “They made my job easy today. I didn’t have to dig as many balls. I was proud of them.”
Both teams should return plenty of talent in 2020, especially Leland which loses just one senior. While Grobbel is a significant loss, the thought of a third straight trip to the Finals, and another possible chance at redemption against Mendon, was already on the mind of at least one Comets player.
“It makes me want to win even more,” said junior libero Mia Osorio, who had 10 digs. “Last year, we came into this year thinking we really want to win, but this time it’s like the cherry on top. We just want to make it down here again and hopefully see them again – and win.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Mendon celebrates its second-straight Division 4 championship Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Mendon’s Ryley Mullin (11) and Leland’s Olivia Lowe battle at the net.
Miss Volleyball Paces Mercy to 1st Final Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2019
BATTLE CREEK – Jess Mruzik spent most of Saturday afternoon putting dents in the court at Kellogg Arena.
But with the opportunity to seal Farmington Hills Mercy’s first MHSAA Division 1 volleyball title at her fingertips, Miss Volleyball showed some touch.
Mruzik’s tip sealed a 25-21, 25-12, 23-25, 26-24 victory against Lowell, finally giving the perennial contenders the big mitten trophy.
“I knew as soon as I got blocked (at 24-23) that, ‘Man, I probably shouldn’t have done that,’” Mruzik said. “I knew what I was going to do right after that. I knew that I made a mistake there, and I just wanted to win that point and win it for my team.”
Mruzik’s tip capped off a 34-kill night, the third-most prolific attacking performance in Finals history.
“It’s unreal,” Mruzik said. “This is the best way you can end your high school career, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be in such an amazing program with amazing coaches and amazing teammates. Honestly, that wouldn’t have been possible without all the passers passing great passes, Julia (Bishop) feeding me the ball pretty much perfect every single time. That’s something I’m fortunate to have.”
The final kill may not have hit with the same thud as the others, but it set off a celebration several years in the making. Mercy (58-1) has spent much of coach Loretta Vogel’s 11 years leading the program as a highly-ranked team, but its best finish was as Class A runner-up in 2010.
As her team piled up in celebration near the net, Vogel couldn’t help but join in.
“I had to,” Vogel said. “You don’t know whether it’s going to happen again. (Bishop) said it once in an interview, ‘I just want to be in a pile at the end of the game.’ You do think of that. It doesn’t happen very often, so I joined.”
Vogel brought her entire team into the postgame press conference to drive home the point of how special this group was.
"I think from the beginning, everyone plays their role,” Vogel said. “We didn’t bring anyone up from our JV or freshman team, because it was emphasized that they’re a very close-knit group, and I respected that. Why I wanted everyone here is that they’re (together) every day, and they’re very close. In the end, they like each other, also.”
Mercy won a hard-fought first set, but showed its ability to dominate in the second, ruthlessly wiping out a 9-4 deficit and taking the set’s final 13 points to take a 2-0 lead.
But after that, the Marlins faced something they had rarely seen all year: adversity.
Lowell managed to dig deep and take the third set, despite giving up another lead. The Red Arrows led 20-15, but Mercy came back to tie the match at 22. Lowell stayed mentally strong, though, and won three of the next four points to keep its season alive and force a fourth set.
The Red Arrows again had a lead in the fourth, this time going up 15-12 midway through. The two teams traded points and mini runs until they were tied at 23 and 24, setting up the final two kills from Mruzik to end it.
“In the fourth game, I was getting a little nervous,” Vogel said. “But we were able to stay with the plan. I think a lot of times when we get in our timeouts, it’s not just all the coaches talking about things, but the players knowing who we need to watch, giving suggestions. I think that was extremely helpful not just today, but any of our matches we’ve had this year. This one was obviously real tight, but we had one other that was extremely difficult, too.”
Lowell (55-4) – which had handed Mercy its one loss of the season, albeit early in the year while Mruzik was playing in a tournament overseas – did a good job of making Vogel and the top-ranked Marlins sweat despite falling in a 2-0 hole.
“That’s a great team on the other side of the net, obviously,” Lowell coach Jordan Drake said. “I’m super proud of the way our girls fought the entire time. It was a familiar feeling after Set 1 dropping it, but our girls just came out and fought, still. Set 2 got a little ugly there at the end. Set 3 we came out hot, took them there. Set 4, we had our chances, but they made some plays on the other side of the net, so credit to them. But I’m proud of the way our girls fought, for sure.”
Junior Jenna Reitsma had 22 kills and 12 digs for Lowell, while senior Meghan Meyer had 17 kills. Junior setter Sophia Powell had 40 assists coordinating the Lowell attack.
Mruzik, who will play at University of Michigan next year, added 15 digs, while junior setter Bishop had 54 assists. Junior Ellen Tisko had 14 kills, and sophomore Amina Robinson had 22 digs.
PHOTOS: (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Jess Mruzik sends a kill between a pair of Lowell blockers Saturday. (Middle) The Red Arrows’ Meghan Meyer (5) gets a hand on an attempt by Mercy’s Charli Atiemo.