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GO BIG FISH!!!
Mercy High School Volleyball
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2009 MERCY SUMMER VOLLEYBALL CAMP ANNOUNCED
Ckick here to get camp brochure !
Save the dates - Mon July 20th - Fri July 24!
This year's camp will be led by new head coach Loretta Vogel. See Camp Brochure - space is limited so sign up early! Great opportunity especially for incoming freshmen to sharpen those skills, meet other incoming freshmen and get ready for tryouts in August!
Session 1 is for 9-12th grades from 9am -3:30pm and Session 2 is for 5-8th graders from 5-7:30pm
W E L C O M E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 3 ! ! !
Congratulations on being accepted to Mercy and being a part of the greatest High School in Michigan! We wish you good luck in the coming year and hope you will join us for Volleyball this year. On this site you will find lots of information about the program, some news reports and photos from the past season, and links to other important sites. Welcome to class of 2013!
Mercy Announces New Head Coach
Mercy High School has selected Loretta Vogel as the new varisty head coach to fill the shoes of the very successful tenure of Ed Moeller. Loretta brings over 30 years of volleyball coaching experience including high school, NJCAA, NCAA, and USA High Performance positions. With Loretta's depth of experience, passion for the game, and excitement about the Mercy Program, the Marlins will be poised for a great season this year. Congratulations Loretta - Welcome to Mercy!
Start Marking your Calendars for the 2009-10 Season
Per the MHSAA 2009-10 Calendar for Volleyball:
First Day of Practice: Wed. Aug. 12th
First Day of Competition: Fri. Aug 21st
State Districts start: Nov. 2nd
State Finals: Nov. 21st
Tryout dates and Mercy Summer Volleyball Camp dates will be posted over the next several weeks.
Welcome incoming Freshmen!
Big Fish Show Up HUGE in CHSL Finals, Scare 2nd Ranked Marian in Close 5 Set Match
After defeating an tough Divine Child team that was undefeated in CHSL play and ranked 5th in the Class B state rankings last Thursday, the Marlins faced an excellent Marian Mustang squad which is ranked 2nd in the Class A rankings. To the shock and awe of the Marian team, the Marlins came from behind in set 1 to defeat the Mustangs 25-22. Set 2 saw the Mustangs rally to win 18-25, with the Marlins claiming Set 3 once again with a 25-22 score. The Big Fish started off slowly in Game 4, and could not catch the Mustangs falling 21-25. In the final and deciding set, the Marlins set the pace winning the first point, but unfortunately losing the set 7-15. The Marlins played a TREMENDOUS, cohesive match, capitalizing on the strength and talent of all the players, supported by a rocking and vocal bench and fans.
Sr. Captain Stephanie Bodien started set 1 off with a sizzling strike to the server’s corner for the first Marlin kill of the match, followed by a perfectly executed pass from Sr. Mackenzie Bickes to Fr. Maddie Doyle who punched the ball to the other corner, forcing the Mustangs to spin around as if in a pin ball game, just watching the ball go down the drain. Sr. Sarah Wojcik then brings her shovel, the BIG one, to dig up three Marian attacks in one point, leading to an exhilarating T run by Sr. Captain Bridget Hickey that electrified the crowd and brought the bench and fans to their feet, with the Marlins pulling within 2 points to 9-11. Next, Jr. Katherine Gerry put on a show of her own, frustrating the Marian hitters, executing pass after pass, leading to another Hickey HAMMER! Sr. Tower Andrea Conover absolutely crushed a bad Marian pass that loomed into her territory in the middle, bringing the score to 12-13. Hickey Tower then did a repeat of long time comrade Conover, and laid another stuff into a spinning Mustang front line. Doyle adds an acrobatic save of a Mustang dink – as the Mustang’s try to muster some strategy after having their hitting game altered, which led to a Doyle cross court lightening bolt to the 5’ line from right to left to put a punctuation on the point for the Big Fish, and take the first Marlin lead of the set, 16-15. Conover stretches the lead with another great move at the net, while Bickes pounds the Mustangs with a series of line drive serves. Not to be satisfied with just knock your socks off serves, Bickes connects on a perfectly placed C with Conover to pull the Marlins up to 20-18. Sr. Katie Jenereaux adds more fireworks to the service line, setting up a weak Marian return and a marathon point seeing Bodien dig up a crushing Mustang hit, earning her the opportunity to put away another energy packed kill, and scratching to a 21-19 lead. Marian storms back to tie it up at 21-21, but a Gerry-Bickes-Bodien combo knocks out the Mustangs and puts the score at 22-21 for the good guys. Doyle punches the serve over, setting up a Hickey HAMMER, and a Marian time out at 23-21. Doyle performs an amazing dig, inspiring a Bodien BLAST to notch the Marlins up one more to 24-22 – but then the HAMMER falls once again to a beautifully placed right cross to the far sideline and a stunned Mustang bench. Sr. Morgan McPartlin was instrumental throughout the first set, leading the team in passing accuracy, and fueling the climb to the top out of the blocks. Stayed tuned for set 2……
The fans were all on their feet, after losing both regular season matches to Marian, they were inspired by the great Marlin performance, but after a few blocks that reflected just out of bounds the Marlins found themselves down 2-6. A well placed serve by Gerry set up a weak Marian return and a Hickey tip to re-energize the Fish. Bickes added several wicked serves to bring the Marlins to 5-8. Bodien scraped up a Mustang killer shot, which Bickes transformed to a Conover middle pounding. Point Mercy. Doyle followed with a right side kill that almost knocked the slow to react Mustang to the pines. Sr. Sarah Wojcik pushed the Marlins to 8-9 with a hard line drive to the floor, showcasing her ability to surgically slice and dice the opponents from yet another Marlin attack. Bodien notched another kill to tie the score at 9-9 and a growing swell of Marlin cheering. As the Fish battled the Mustangs, Bickes skillfully played some long passes out of the net keeping the Marlins on the attack, but Marian climbed to a 10-13 lead until Doyle launched a huge leap, that got blocked back only for Doyle to tip back for the point. Conover plugged the middle and spun the Mustangs around with a tip that kept the Marlins in the hunt. The Mustangs continued to inch away until stopped cold by a stunning, in your face block by Bodien that halted the Marian run at 16-22. A three way, one armed series of saves by Doyle, Jenereaux and Hickey all in a row shocked the Mustangs who were not able to regroup after they thought they had surely won the point, bringing the score to 18-22. From there the Mustangs closed out the set with some outstanding hits, which you could do nothing but admire and vow to get it back in the next game.
Set 3 also started out slow, until Hickey flew high above the Marian blockers and nail the back line, putting the Marlins on the board at 1-5. Hickey added the next two ponts to her resume, with a punishing middle hit and another right side point, raising the score to 4-6. McPartlin chipped in another point with a strong left rocket, and Doyle/Conover combined for another stuff in the middle, which Marian had executed skillfully in the regular season - Shut Down! Bodien added a right side kill that rolled the length of the net and out of the reach of the Mustangs for another point, passing the serve back to the Marlins. Jenereaux struck at the heart of the serve receive, setting up another opportunity for Bodien to force the ball through the block to the wood. 11-14. Bickes loaded up on the next Mercy serve opportunity with a sweet ace untouched to the ground and a flying pancake in picture perfect manner in the next exchange. Doyle and Bodien continued the arial attack, closing the gap to 17-18, when on the next serve opportunity Wojcik pasted the Mustangs feet to the floor and noched another ace for the Big Fish. tying up the game. Bodien put the aqua rangers on top with get another left flush on a perfectly executed pass combo from Bickes and Wojcik. Jenereaux worked the serve to the Marlin advantage and the Wojcik, Bickes Maddie combo put the Marlins up by 2. The Captains put an end to the Marain rally with a 1-2 consecutive punch from left side and then down the line to ensure the win and to add to the Mustang disbelief. 25-21.
Once again it took a stiff Bickes serve, and 3 great digs by Bodien setting up a pounding Doyle shot that reflected off the Mustangs to the top row of the stands before the Marlins got in gear, still trailing 4-8 in the fourth set. Jenereax and Gerry provided solid serving and Doyle and McPartlin knocked holes in the defense as the see-saw battle ratcheted up, with the Mustangs continuing to pull ahead to 12-19, causing Coach Moeller to leap to a time out. McPartlin fired off a left side shot to set the tone and shift the momentum after the time out. Bodien piled on with an exploding right line shot that now had the Mustangs shaking in their boots - the end of their dyanasty. Jenereaux calming aced the off key Mustangs with precision to bring the score to 19-22. The battles for the last few points were long and fierce, but the Mustangs prevailed in the most exciting High School volleyball of the year, ending set 4 at 21-25.
Final set started with a BANG from a Bodien-Hickey-Doyle combo to put the Marlins on the board 1-0 - unlike the previous 3 sets. However the Mustangs were on fire skillfully placing hits, and outpaced the Marlin attacks. Hickey punished the ball to pull the Marlins up to 2-2, and Conover launched a surprise attack on the Mustangs on a well planned and executed shoot set & stuff over the middle from Bickes, bringing the score to 4-6. Bodien short circuited a Mustang run at 5-8 with bolt that took the defender to the floor. Wojcik popped up an absolute rocket from the middle, keeping the Marlins in the fight, but the Mustangs kept up the assault from all sides. At 5-11 Doyle struck from the right sending several Mustangs scrambling to the floor to close the perfectly selected seam. Score 6-11. Freshman Elena Lamping shattered the building Marian enthusiasm with a reality check that the game wasn't over, and stuffed the ball like it hit a brick wall over the middle. Unfortunately the Mustangs prevailed 7-15.
Attacks/kills: Bodien 37/14, Hickey 30/14, Doyle 18/13, McPartlin 11/7, Lamping 8/0, Conover 6/4, Bickes 4/0, Wojcik 3/0.
Serves/Aces: Gerry 17/1, Bickes 15/1, Jenereaux 13/1, Doyle 13/1, Bodien 13/0, Wojcik 10/1
Assists: Bickes 23, Doyle 23, Bodien 1, Hickey 1
Digs/rating: Gerry 19/2.4, Wojcik 13/2.2, Bodien 10/2.5, Doyle 7/2.3, Bickes 5/2.2, Jenereaux 2/3.0. Hickey & Lamping 1/3.0
Serve Receives/rating: Gerry 40/2.2, Bodien 23/2.3, Wojcik 17/2.2, McPartlin 9/2.1, Bickes 3/3.0, Doyle 3/1.3, Jenereaux 1/2.0.
Blocks: Block Assists/Solo Blocks: Conover 5/2, Hickey 5/0, Lamping 2/1, Bodien 2/0, Doyle 2/0, McPartlin 1/0.
Marlins Vball Banquet - Nov30th
October 14, 2008
!!!!!!!!!!!! Mark the date. !!!!!!!!!!
The Banquet will be held at the Rock Financial Showplace in the Sapphire /Ruby Ballroom located on 46100 Grand River Avenue Novi, Mi 48374 on Sunday, November 30th, 2008 at 5:00 pm. Invitations will be sent out in November. Cost for all team members will be covered by the boosters' club. More information coming.
See you there!!!
Marlins Perform Well at Madonna Tournament
October 14, 2008
On Saturday, October 11th, the Mercy Varsity
Volleyball team took to the hardwood at the Madonna University 30 team
tournament. Pool play for the Marlins started at 9:30am against Walled
Lake Central followed by Southfield, Grand Blanc and Southgate. Starting off slow, Mercy fell behind in
the first set with Walled Lake and hung there until late in the scoring. The looming defeat sparked a nerve and
the Marlins closed the gap and over took Walled Lake 25-18. In the second set of the match, Mercy
performed right out of the gate and controlled the set to finish at 25 -13. With Southfield, team play continued to come together. Pounding in 14 kills, 6 aces and 55
digs, the Marlins put away Southfield in both sets 25 -12. Competition increased as we faced Grand Blanc in the third
round of pool play. Meeting the
challenge, Mercy let loose on 16 kills and 3 aces and put up good defense with
6 blocks and 48 digs.
Unfortunately, not enough as Grand Blanc was able to hold off the
relentless effort in the first set in an extra point battle 26-28 and a second
set, just as tough, 22-25. Southgate was our last round of pool play. The Marlins did well playing their game
above the competition. The scores
and the statistics proved it out as Mercy hammered in 19 kills and 6 more aces,
backed up by 44 digs and 6 blocks.
They were able to hold serve
as the back row only had 13 serve receives and overwhelmed Southgate
25-7 and 25-10, placing themselves as the fourth seed in our facility, Plymouth
High School. Six teams, out of our original 15, continued after 2:30pm in
the playoff rounds. The Marlins
and Plymouth HS squared off first as the 1 match elimination playoffs
commenced. Short two players,
Mercy really showed up to play!
What a display!!! Plymouth
was no push over, but the Marlins beat 24 kills over the net, bolstered by 1
ace and backed up with 39 digs.
They frustrated Plymouth blanking their attacks with 13 stuffs and 7
blocks, to take the match in two sets, 25-19 and 25-18. Coming off a good win, Mercy was primed to take on Grand
Blanc again. When they had faced
each other in pool play, Mercy had a full compliment of players. Now, down two from their roster, it
would be a stiffer challenge the second time around. The first set went as
before, a hard fought contest that saw Grand Blanc close it out by two points,
23-25. But being shorthanded, the
fans thought the Marlins were terrific.
As the second set progressed, it was clear that these kids had something
going. It was a great site to see!!
What teamwork! It required
contributions from each player.
Everyone had to do their part and they did, in remarkable fashion. Grand Blanc was stunned when Mercy took
the second set 25-19. They were
shocked when the Marlins kept the momentum and won the third set 15-7 and sent
them packing. Mercy had chalked up
a whopping 29 KILLS and 4 aces on the offensive side of the game. Defense was marked by 39 digs and
exclaimed with 22 STUFFS and 14 BLOCKS, an excellent display of teamwork and
execution. Competition was getting higher as teams contended further in
the brackets. The third round of
the playoffs, which was the seventh match of the day for Mercy, placed Novi on
the opposite side of the net this time.
Novi, coming off a long rest had Mercy at a disadvantage since the
Marlins had just finished two straight matches. Mercy played a tough set with
Novi in a back and forth battle with neither team able to break away. Mercy found good opportunities at the
end and closed out the set in extra points 26-24. Set two was another long one with the Marlins
sucumming to Novi 20-25, still a close set. In what was to be the final contest for Mercy for the day,
our Marlins continued to fight for each point, keeping the garbage off the
floor and covering attacks at the net and the back row with an offense that
kept pounding at their front row.
Ten hours of volleyball takes a toll and our girls couldn’t quite get
over the hump and fell to Novi only by two points, 13-15. The effort was exceptional. The Marlins had a startling 96 attacks,
18 of those were kills. There were
56 serves with 4 aces, 44 digs and 26 stuffs plus 15 blocks. Thank you, Marlins, for a great day of volleyball!!! Key Stats: Kills- 120
total- Hickey 32, Bodien, S. 29, McPartlin 15, Martin and Marinos 13,
Conover 12, Doyle 3 and Lamping 2 Aces-24 total-
Bickes 6, Bodien S., Conover,
Jenereaux, Garry and Bodien A. 3,
Martin, Wojcik and Armada 1 Assists-
Bickes 66, Bodien A. 37, Hickey and Doyle 8, Marinos 3, Bodien S., Martin
and Garry 1 Serve
Receives- Garry 61, Bodien S. 50, Jenereaux 28, McPartlin 23, Martin 9, Wojcik
7, Hickey and Marinos 4, Doyle 3, Armada and Bodien A. 2, Conover 1 Digs-269
total-Bickes 57, Garry 53, Bodien S. 49, Jenereaux and Bodien A. 20, Doyle 15,
McPartlin and Marinos 12, Martin 11, Hickey 10, Armada 6, Lamping 2,
Conover and Wojcik 1
Stuffs/Blocks-Hickey 20/7, Conover 18/12, Lamping 17/11, Bodien S. 7/4,
McPartlin 6/2,
Marinos 4/11, Martin 3/3, Bodien A. 3/1, Doyle 0/1
JV Marlins Prevail in First Home Match
September
11, 2008
On Thursday, the Mercy Marlins kicked off their league season with a
victory over the Divine Child Falcons.
The players and fans were filled with excitement and school spirit as
the JV team entered their first home game of the season. When the game began, however, Mercy
took some time to gain control of the match. The Marlins and the Falcons traded points until the Marlins
managed to finish off the game with a 25-22 win. In the second game, Mercy pulled together and saw much
improvement. With more confidence
and fewer unforced errors, they prevented the Falcons from regaining their
momentum from the previous game.
Mercy went on to a victory of 25-21 over their challenging opponent and
claimed the match. The JV team is
expecting to carry the success of their first league match into their
tournament this weekend in Grand Blanc.
Marlins Start Strong, get out run by Mustangs
October 9, 2008
The gym and foyer were filled with Great! decorations honoring the 8 graduating seniors and Marlin Varisity. The students & JV/Frosh teams were on their feet shaking the bleachers - which got the Marlins off to a fast start out of the gate with strong serving from Jr. Katherine Garry and stinging kills by Seniors Nia Martin and Bridget Hickey, racing the BIG Fish out to a 10-7 lead on a Frosh Maddie Doyle slice to the wood from the right side. The Mustangs were able to slowly shift the momentum after a pair of official timeouts taking the lead at 11-14. Senior Captain Bridget Hickey took the reigns of the Mustangs and pulled them back in with a ferocious jam to the floor and a skillful right side Martin strike that went off a block and rolled the entire length of the next, and to fall out of bounds-point Marlins - tieing up the score. Senior Captain Stephanie Bodien unleashed a pair of impressive top spin jump serves to push the fish farther into the lead followed by rocketing line drive serves and skillfull passes by Senior Mackenzie Bickes. The Mustangs proved tough on defense, clawing their way back to re-take the lead in this see-saw battle of CHSL Titans to 19-21, when the fish slammed the door on the coral with a text-book perfect trio of a Bodien pass to Bickes feeding a high flying leap by a Flying Fish Doyle that shocked the Mustangs, leaving them not even able react. Jr. Angel Marinos RIPPED an Ace past a shell shocked Marion defense, edging the Marlins within 1 point at 21-22, adding her impressive middle performance. Senior Andrea Conover piled on to the arial attack with a powerful quick to the far corner, skillfully placing the ball just inside the line, tieing the score at 24-24. Despite some repeated explosive hits by Conover and sprawling saves by Hickey and Doyle, the Mustangs came out on top, 24-26. : ( Sooooo close against the top ranked Marion rivals. The Marlins were clearly in the hunt!
Game two started of with a couple of perfectly executed middle quicks by Marion, that put the fish back on their heels until Soph Annie Bodien surgically placed the set for Martin who shook the house with a leaping kill, bring the Marlins back to 6-11. Big Sister Bodien plunged a nice right side set to the hoofs of Mustangs for a kill followed by an incredible Hickey/Conover wall that stuffed Marion repeatedly and forcing the Mustangs to rethink their quick middle attack. Some great digs lead by Sr. Sarah Wojcik on defense kept the Marlins in the game but the Mustangs continued to inch ahead. Garry continued to lead the the defense with effective Libero duties keeping the Marlins in each point. Doyle gave the Mustangs a little their own medicine putting away a cross court shoot set from Bodien, A. while Bodien, S. dug up a rocket from the relentless Mustang attack to keep the rally going. Wojcik pitched in with some serves right on a tightrope, but the Mustangs continued to outlast the Marlins. In the end, after some great volleyball, the Mustangs prevailed 12-25.
Conover set the stage for game three with a fantastic quick, followed by a string of solid serves by Bodien S. taking the score to 4-4. Freshman Elana Lamping filled the middle on the front line, continuing to cause havoc on the Mustang middle attack, while Wojcik contributed her skin to the floor, but rejected the Marion attack and providing perfect passes to set up the attack. A picture perfect Wojcik pass to Bickes precision set enabled a Bodien S. lightening line shot between the pole and 2 looming Mustang blockers. Senior Morgan McPartlin joined the front line, put up consecutive blocks to re-enforce the Marion respect for the Mercy blockers. McPartlin's spark ignited a rally at 9-16, but the ball continued to slip away from the Marlins. Another outstanding pass by Garry set up another Doyle kill and then a series of intense attacks by the Marlin seniors playing in their last game. Hickey began the fireworks with strike to the backline which caught the Mustangs absolutely standing still, followed by a merciless shot by Bodien S. that totally pegged the Marion Middle, a Wojcik patented tightrope serve, followed up by an incredible dig on the return of her serve, and last but not least one of the best serves of the night by Sr. Katie Jenereaux who just blasted the ball past the Mustangs setting up the final Marlin point. Unfortunately the Marlins came up short, but played very well against a well respected Marion team. 15-25
Key Stats were:
Blocks - Conover 2, Hickey 1
Serve Receive - Bodien S 22, Garry 21
Kills - Bodien S 8, Hickey 7, Doyle 5
Assists Doyle 11, Bickes 7
Good Serves... (the entire team only missed one serve all night -!) Bodien 14, Garry & Doyle 7, Bickes & Wojcik 6
Digs- Bodien S. 19, Garry 10, Wojcik 9
Marlins Take Down Saddlelites In Three
October 8, 2008
The Mercy Marlins Varsity Volleyball team took on, and took
down, the Regina Saddlelites last night in the Saddledome in three straight
sets. With scores of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-13, the Marlins varsity
seemed to improve as play continued.
Good digs and ball handling kept the Saddlelites from scoring. Front row blocks and attacks put Mercy
on the board, and point by point gave us the wins. The back row of Katherine Garry, Katie Jenereaux, Sarah
Wojcik and Alex Armada worked hard to keep the ball off the floor and put it
into the hands of setters, Maddy Doyle, Mackenzie Bickes and Annie Bodien. On the mark sets by these three created
opportunities for hitters Bridget Hickey, Andrea Conover, Nia Martin,
Maddy Doyle, Stephanie Bodien, Morgan McPartlin, Angel Marinos and Elena Lamping
to pound it over the net for 30 kills on the night. Two strings of eight straight points each, enabled by consistent good serves, in sets two and three, opened up leads that would not be
relinquished. The blocking, as
ever, showed up in good form with Hickey, Conover, Bodien (S.), Doyle,
McPartlin, Lamping, Marinos and Martin.
Solo and in combinations too numerous to list they shut down the Regina
attack. The victory brings the Marlins CHSL record to 3 and 1, in
the division and 4 and 1 overall.
The combined season record stands at 25-10-1. Thursday, October 9th, Mercy hosts our most
intense rivalry when Marian pays us a visit. All three squads, Freshman, JV and Varsity will be looking
to make up for their last meetings with the Mustangs. Be there, bring a friend! Noteable Stats for the Regina match: Attacks/Kills- Hickey 17/7, Doyle 11/6, Conover 11/5, Bodien
S. 10/3, Martin 9/5, McPartlin 5/2 and Marinos 4/2 Aces- Bodien S. 1, Marinos 1 Assists- Doyle 15, Bickes 8, Bodien A. 3, Hickey 2 Digs- Garry 19, Bickes 13, Bodien S. 9, Wojcik 9, Jenereaux
7, Doyle 5, Bodien A., Hickey, Martin and McPartlin 2, and Armada, Conover and
Lamping 1 Blocks/Attemps- Hickey 6/10, Conover 2/8, Doyle 0/7, Lamping 0/6, Marinos, Martin
and McPartlin 0/3, Bodien S. 0/1
Marlins take on Allen Park at Airport Carleton Tournament
October 7, 2008
Last Sunday, the JV Mercy team competed in the Airport Carleton Tournament. The tournament started late, allowing the team to catch some extra zzz...s! Rested and ready to go they played their first game around eleven o'clock. The Marlins started off strong and won both games against Riverview. The next match against Bedford proved to be more demanding with the Marlins loosing the match. The playoffs followed. The Marlins played well against Allen Park and won the match the score being 25-23 and 26-24. The Marlins then went on to again challenge Bedford in the semi finals. In the first game of the match the Marlins came out strong and won. Bedford came back to win the second. Bedford ended up winning a close fought tie breaker 15-13. This week the JV team has an away game against Regina (tonight), a home game against Marian on Thursday and plays in the Walled Lake Central Tournament this Saturday...Go Marlins!
Mercy Varsity Volleyball Takes Silver Trophy at Ferris State Tournament
October 7, 2008
On Saturday, October 4th, the Marlins journeyed
to Big Rapids for the Ferris State volleyball tournament, a 24 team competition
among schools from around the state. In the first round of pool play, the Marlins faced
Evart. The match went smoothly as
Mercy handled them well enough to win both sets by decent margins, 25-12 and
25-14, well enough, but not quite “crisp”. Not quite crisp evidenced itself in the next match of pool
play as we squared off against E. Grand Rapids. The eventual winner of the tournament handled us almost as
well as we had handled Evart. The
Marlins fell to the champs 19-25 and 14-25. Still not out of contention, the second round of pool play
gave us a chance to pull ourselves back into the leader group. Boyne City was on the other side of the
net and the Marlins put together two good sets to blank Boyne City 25-12 and
25-11. With hopes still alive for
the Gold, Anchor Bay was up next in the final match of pool play. Unfortunately, the first set went to
Anchor Bay 22-25, making it even harder to get in the gold playoffs. Keeping focused only on the set at
hand, Mercy clawed back from their disappointment to edge out Anchor Bay 26-24
and force a third set.
Rejuvenated, the Marlins blistered Anchor Bay taking the match with a
15-7 win. The split landed Mercy in the Silver bracket; there was
still a lot of volleyball to play, and play they did. The afternoon would
require three match wins for the victors.
After a grueling morning and having played four matches (9 sets), our
team was still anxious to show what they could do. Whoever wins would need stamina. First, Big Rapids came to the court, and left the court for
home, after the Marlins posted two straight set wins of 25-12 and 25-14. A good feeling but can they keep it
up? Second, Yale! And ouch!!! It was close but the Marilins fell 25-27. “Down, but not out” as is said, Mercy
did not fold. Instead, they came
back and put Yale down 25-21 and topped it off with a 15-3 spanking in the
third set to jettison themselves into the silver finals. Keeping alive for the finals placed them back on the court
against Anchor Bay again. Would
the outcome be the same, better or worse?
The first set made us think things were looking good. The Marlins beat Anchor Bay
convincingly, 25-16. However, this
was not to be a walk in the park.
Anchor Bay had other things on their mind and came back with an hard
fought win, 22-25, to set Mercy to rethinking, and that they did. The Marlins put up the final set of the
day with a commanding victory of 15-4 to take the Silver trophy. Congratulations to the players and the coaches. Never say die!
Marlins Over Blazers in 4 Sets
October 2, 2008
On Tuesday evening, the Mercy varsity hosted a very talented Ladywood volleyball team. Spirit was high as it carried over from the preceding JV and Freshman matches. Members from both squads, and both schools, cheered back and forth, almost a contest of its own, as varsity play commenced and continued.
The Blazers began the first three (3) sets with a lead, putting the Marlins a step behind early in the going. In the first set, Mercy came back steadily at each serve change, narrowing the gap and finally putting the set away with a convincing string of points to win 25-20. It was a long set with blocks and digs on both sides of the net.
Set 2 was much of the same, however, Ladywood would not relinquish the lead. Midway through, there was a scoring error in Ladywood's favor. As play resumed, some thought that it still wasn't correct. First to break 20, the Blazers had the lead all the way to 23-19. Probably counted out by most, the Marlins chipped away at the spread, traded serves and gutted it out to a 24-24 tie. With the serve in hand, Mercy earned another point to take the lead and a line encroachment call handed the hard fought match to the Marlins, 26-24.
That must have ignited Ladywood, since they led the third set from start to finish. Mercy seemed to “spot” them 5 points or so, as in the prior two sets, and then couldn't’t make up the ground. Ladywood held the lead and kept the Marlins at bay taking the set 25-19.
The final set of the night was Mercy’s. Differing from the prior sets, the Marlins came out in the lead and built on it throughout the set. Key blocks kept the Blazers offense from getting any momentum. Great digs and a “pancake” sparked Mercy to strong attacks from the back row as well as at the net, sending Ladywood packing after a 25-18 loss.
The match win puts the Marlins divisional league record at 2 and 1. With an additional win in a crossover match with Divine Child, our overall CHSL record stands at 3 and 1.
Next week will be a busy and important one with our visit to Regina on Tuesday and Marian entering the house on Thursday. The following week, on Thursday, 10-16, we will be at Ladywood. These will be our last dual matches and the completion of the CHSL regular season. Pass the word, let’s fill the house.
Thanks to the JV and Freshman players and fans who hung around and displayed such "ENTHUSIASM" for the varsity.
Notable Stats for the Ladywood match:
Kills: Hickey 14, Bodien S. 12, Doyle 8, Conover and Marinos 3 each, McPartlin and Lamping 1
Good Serves/Aces: Bickes 24/0, Doyle 18/1, Bodien S. 12/1, Conover 7/0, Garry 6/0, Jenereaux and Bodien A. 4/0
Assists: Doyle 22, Bickes 15, Hickey 2, Bodien S. 1
Serve Receives: Bodien S. 16, Garry 12, Wojcik 9, McPartlin 8, Marinos and Doyle 5, Hickey 3, Jenereaux and Martin 2
Digs” Bodien S. 39, Garry 33, Bickes, Wojcik and Doyle 15, Conover 7, Jenereaux, McPartlin and Marinos 6, Hickey 5, Martin an Bodien A. 3, Lamping 2
Blocks S/A: Conover 1/5, Hickey 0/6, Doyle 1/4, Lamping 2/3, Marinos 0/2, Bodien S. 1/0
SEE YOU TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
****************** Charlie DIGS Mercy ...!!! *****************
September 29, 2008
GOLLY, we get 'em when their young!!!!!!!!
Say "Hi" to Charlie Englhardt. He is our newest youngest fan: weighing in at 20 lbs., standing/sitting/crawling 27 inches with a reach of 8.5 inches (?) This WILD MAN has stolen the hearts of many.
Look for him at Mercy Volleyball matches.
Nice bib, Charlie!
Awesome!! - Junior Varsity Takes Gold at Novi Tournament
September 28, 2008
Mercy Takes Gold in U of M Dearborn Tournament, Fall to Marian in First League Matchup
September 23, 2008
U OF M DEARBORN - SEPT 20
Over the weekend, the Marlins came up big, winning the gold bracket of the U of M Dearborn Tournment after defeating a strong Canton team in the Semi's, and Lutheran Western in the finals. The Marlins tied Lutheran Westlandfor the first match of the day, and then proceeded to run the table against Renaissance Detroit, Roosevelt Wyandott, Lakeland and Canton. This boosted the Marlins record to 40-23 in games, and 17-8-1 in matches. The tournament matches allowed varsity newcomers Alex Armada, Annie Bodien and Katherine Garry join veteran Angel Marinos and Sarah Wojcik to post some excellent stats for digs, with freshman Elana Lamping and Andrea Conover putting up big block numbers. Kills were led by Stephanie Bodien, Bridget Hickey and Maddy Doyle. Morgan McPartlin, Katie Jenereaux and Nia Maritn played solidly throughout the day, with Mackenzie Bickes leading the assists. See summary of stats below.
MARIAN - SEPT 23
The first match with the cross town rival Marian will not be the last. Although the Marlins fell in 3 games, 11-25, 17-25, 22-25, the Marlins were decoding the high flying Mustangs, and just needed games 4 and 5 to overcome Marian.
Game one started slow, with the Marlins getting behind1-7 before getting sparked by a series of lightning kills by Sr. Captain Stephanie Bodien, Sr. Andrea Conover. Jr Angel Marinos, with strong support from left side Sr. Morgan McPartlin. Junior Katherine Garry played very solid defense, providing ample opportunities to attack. Some scrappy defense midway through the game ignited a rally and Marlin spirits, but in the end was still short, ending 11-25.
The second game started off with Sr. Captain Bridget Hickey taking control with a convincing block followed by a smash to the floor, and an excited Marlin bench. Stephanie Bodien scraped up a hard hit shot giving Angel Marinos the opportunity to lay a perfect off-speed hit rolling to the pines just behind the leaping Mustang front line. Frosh Elena Lamping and Maddy Doyle provided sky cover with the start to the solution of the Marian middle attack, each landing a key block to keep the momentum rolling. Captains Hickey and Bodien landed a pair of kills with Annie Bodien setting up a slicing right side hit by Maddy Doyle at the 10 foot line. Seniors Katie Jenereaux and Sarah Wojcik covered the floor on defense with great hustle and intensity, keeping the Marlins in the hunt. Sr. Mackenzie Bickes added fuel to the fire with precision serving and a ace that caught the Mustangs off guard. Unfortunately the game ended 17-25.
In game 3, Mackenzie Bickes pumped up the Marlins throughout the third game with some outstanding precision passes, which led to a big defensive stop by a menacing Hickey block and stinging series of kills by Stephanie Bodien. An acrobatic set perfectly placed to an alert Nia Martin allowed her to soar over the net and punched the ball to the ground without hestitation. Martin scored another kill, with teammate Sarah Wojcik racking up a lead with strong serves and a bullet ace. Solid defense by Bickes, Katherine Garry and Katie Jenereaux was the key to creating opportunities for attacks. Blocking of Lamping and Conover forced the Mustangs to virtually abandon the middle. Hickey pushed a perfect set cross court for yet another Martin kill, while Annie Bodien and Elena Lamping added kills to keep the Marlins tied at 17-17. At 19-21 Coach Moeller called a time out to strategize, leading to a tight-rope set by Doyle and Bodien kill, followed by a Doyle kill and Conover / Hickey STUFF! to wrestle the score to 22-23. Unfortunately the Marlins ran out of runway, despite a strong effort to compensate for the quick start by the very solid Mustang team, falling in the 3rd game 22-25.
UMDearborn stats: (13 games played)
Attacks/Kills: S. Bodien 61/40, Hickey 52/30, Doyle 43/34, Marinos42/23, Conover 19/17, Lamping 17/9, McPartlin 8/4, Martin 7/5, Wojcik 1/1
Good Serves/Aces: S.Bodien 48/4, Bickes 44/2, Jenereaux 28/1, Doyle 22/6, Garry 19/1, A.Bodien 17/2, Armada 5/0, Marinos 3/2, Conover 2/0
Assists/Attempts: Bickes 62/78, Doyle 59/86, Hickey 8/12, A.Bodien 5/8, Conover 5/1, S.Bodien 3/2, Garry 2/7, McPartlin 1/0,
Blocks - Solo/Assists: Conover 4/5, Lamping 2/8, Hickey 2/6, S.Bodien 1/2, Martin 0/2, Marinos 0/1, Doyle 0/1
GO MERCY !!
September 23, 2008
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Mercy Varsity Takes 1st in the Silver, 5th overall at South Lyon Tournament
August 23, 2008
The Mercy Varsity Volleyball Team, led by captains, Stephanie Bodien and Bridget Hickey, took to the courts today at South Lyon High School in the first tournament of the season. The Marlins were one of twelve teams at the invitational, all with high hopes.
In the first round of pool play, Mercy took on Fenton. It took three sets, with Mercy winning first 25-22, followed by a close swing in the other direction, a loss 21-25. The third set was just as tight, but the Marlins came up short 15-17, still trying to find the best mix. (This was not over yet.)
Brighton was next on the court and the Marlins felt good as play began, but two points into the first set there was a serious injury to one of the Brighton players. Play was suspended and EMS was summoned. It was almost an hour before play resumed. Unfortunately, Mercy had cooled off and settled down too much. Brighton was able to sneak by the Marlins in set 1, 23-25. The second set wasn't any better, as Mercy fell to Brighton again, 18-25.
In the second round of pool play, things were looking better. Dexter was on the other side of the net and in a very close contest, the Marlins took the first set, 27-25, our second set win of the day. Dexter did not roll over as we might have hoped after a tough loss. Set 2 was just as challenging as Mercy held on to win 25-23 on two final errors from the Dexter team.
Then came North Branch, one of last year's state ranked teams. The Marlins gelled right from the beginning. The stunned Broncos could not shake us off. The set advanced point by point, sideout by sideout, with Mercy taking the lead at 21-18. We were doing it! But North Branch would not cave and was able to come back with seven (7) straight points and win 21-25. The loss, or the effort put forth in that set, must have been too much for the Marlins. It didn't seem like the same team for the second set as they fell to North Branch by a startling 9-25.
A hot and draining day in the gym, even the spectators were perspiring. After a disappointing record in pool play, 1 win and 3 losses (matches) (3 and 6 in sets), the Marlins were still bracketed in the Silver division for the playoffs, seeded 8th,overall, and were playing Fenton, again.
This time, things were a little different. A couple of spots in the line-up had changed and seemed to be working. There were still some wrinkles to work out, but Mercy took Fenton to the wire again and prevailed with another 25-22 win. Set 2 was where things were different from the first round. Strong play by both squads kept the game tight but Mercy didn't fold. Instead, on the strength of good serving, blocking, passing and digging, the Marlins set the course right with a 25-18 payback win and a trip to Silver Div. Finals against Ann Arbor Pioneer.
The last match of a long, hot day and who would blame anyone for coming up short and going home with second in the finals? Not to happen! They did not make it easy for the parents and fans though. Back and forth, up and down, in set 1 and they pulled it out by two points winning in extended play, 27-25. Then, ...was it not to be (?), as the second set closed with a loss, 21-25. Oh, so close!! Don't throw in the towel! The Marlins put it together in nice fashion and beat Ann Arbor Pioneer, in the third and final set to take the Silver Trophy, and fifth overall, with a winning score of 15-12.
Our Mercy Marlin Volleyball Team with two freshman, one sophomore, three juniors and led by eight seniors have embarked on a season that holds hopes for good things to come.
New faces to the Varsity contributed to the day's success. Outstanding play by freshman middle, Elena Lamping with 8 recorded solo blocks on the day helped to light things up as fellow freshman, Maddy Doyle (yes, this is another Doyle sister), provided setting, quick-hitting off a bump or dig and passing skills. Sophomore, Annie Bodien (yes again, another sister act), was invaluable platooning in the setter position, with pin point passing and contributed some, always timely and needed "ups" that left you wondering, how? Junior, Alex Armada, added to our back row with great passing and some welcomed and accurate substitute serving.
Also, juniors, Angel Marinos and Katherine Garry, who demonstrated effective serving and hitting, and defense and court coverage, respectively, made their presence and value known.
With the experience of our eight seniors, Mackenzie Bickes, Stephanie Bodien, Andrea Conover, Bridget Hickey, Katie Jenereaux, Nia Martin, Morgan McPartlin and Sarah Wojcik, hard work, cooperation and communication, this year shows promise.
The potential of the whole is so much more than the sum of the parts.
Good Luck Marlins!!!!!
Notable Stat's for the South Lyon Tournament:
Kills - Hickey 30, Doyle 26, Marinos 25, Conover 23, S. Bodien 19, Lamping 14, Martin 8, McPartlin 1, and even Garry and Bickes each had 1
Assists - Doyle 119, A. Bodien 47, Bickes 27, Hickey 15, S. Bodien 14, Conover 9, Marinos and McPartlin 3, Martin 1
Serves/Aces - Marinos 63/8, S. Bodien 54/2, Hickey 52/2, Doyle 41/1, Bickes 16/3, Martin 16/0, Lamping 12/1, Armada 13/2, Conover 13/1, Wojcik 11/3, McPartlin 10/0, A. Bodien 8/0, Jenereaux 1/0
Digs/passes - Bickes 118, S. Bodien 80, Jenereaux 43, Marinos 41, Garry 39, Doyle and Wojcik 35, A. Bodien 13, Hickey 5, Martin and McPartlin 4, Conover 1
Blocks Solo/Assist - Lamping 8/11, S. Bodien 3/4, Conover 2/8, Martin 2/1, Hickey 1/13, Doyle 0/2, McPartlin 0/1
Mercy Varsity Volleyball 2008-We have begun!!!!!!!
August 23, 2008
The playing season commenced on Tuesday, August 19th at the Mercy gym as the Marlins' Varsity hosted a four team scrimage with Lutheran Westland, Flint Powers and Plymouth-Salem. Each team played the three other opponents at least two sets to 25. It was a good opportunity for each squad to work some kinks out. Mercy was victorious in all of its contests and was able to identify some areas to improve. Our thanks to each of the schools, their teams, coaches, parents and fans for making the "quad scrimage" a success.
Thursday, August 21st, the entire Mercy Volleyball Program traveled to Northville High School for a second scrimage. Each of the teams, Freshman, JV and Varsity met good opposition and were tested even more thuroughly. More to work on, more knowledge gained, more combinations experimented with.
The season wins and losses start to count on Saturday.
Ms. Allie Bonser - New Freshman Head Coach
August 13, 2008
The Mercy Volleyball program welcomes new Freshman Head Coach, Allie Bonser. Coach Bonser is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and a certified teacher. She has been playing volleyball since she was twelve, played four years at Redford Union High school. Most recently, and for the last four years, Coach Bonser headed the varsity volleyball team at St. Valentine's in Redford, MI. She "is super excited to get the season started." Coach loves the Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer, and cant wait for the movie to come out!
Club Volleyball Information-Some Help on What You Need to Know
What parents should know about club volleyball
Click above for information on "club" volleyball to help explain its purpose, the organizations and some options. Also, some links to local clubs/teams, camps and training programs.
MERCY VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
Our progress and accomplishments:
2007
District Champions
Mackenzie Bickes Junior
Stephanie Bodien Junior
Andrea Conover Junior
Kelsey Doyle Senior
Kathryn Gardner Senior
Bridget Hickey Junior
Katie Jenereaux Junior
Colleen Loftus Senior
Angel Marinos Sophmore
Kelsey Maxwell Senior
Morgan McPartlin Junior
Tracy Whalen Junior
Sarah Wojcik Junior
Ed Moeller-Head Coach
Dan Englehardt-Asst. Coach
Leah McMartin-Asst. Coach
Season Record
Games: 101/38
Matches: 40/7/9
AWARDS
Ed Moeller: Catholic League Coach of the Year
Colleen Loftus (S): All Catholic, All Area-First Team
Kelsey Doyle (S): All League, All Area-Second Team
Bridget Hickey(J): All League, All Area-Fourth Team
Stepahanie Bodien (J): All Academic, All Area-Honorable Mention
Mackenzie Bickes(J): All Area-Honorable Mention
Frosh Sweep Divine Child
October 14, 2008
The Mercy Freshmen volleyball team's season got underway with a showdown against Divine Child. After a sluggish start, the Marlins proved that through hard work and commitment, victory could be reached. They went on to systematically dismantle a struggling Falcons team, taking both games of the match. The Marlins once again served well and were there for all the tips and hits. The next outing will be this weekend's tournament at Airport Carleton on Saturday, September 15. Come out and support your Marlin team. Go Marlins!!
Submitted by Jessica Kramer
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