ORCHARD LAKE — Anyone hoping to unseat Farmington Hills Mercy from the list of elite volleyball programs faces a tall task.
The Marlins bring an incredible pedigree: not only have they won two state championships in the past three seasons, they are two-time CHSL defending champions, ranked No. 1 in the state this fall, and 13-0-0 after Wednesday night’s four-set victory at rival Orchard Lake St. Mary.
If those factors weren’t intimidating enough, the Marlins have six girls who stand six feet or taller, requiring opponents to adjust if they have any hopes of returning the ball past the front line.
“I’m very fortunate; they’re great athletes,” head coach Loretta Vogel said. “When we practice, I’m amazed they can stay in for two hours steady; it’s impressive.”
A five-set volleyball match can last two hours or more, but Mercy hasn’t encountered any of those yet this fall. Last Wednesday, the Marlins downed Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 25-17, 21-25, 25-13, 25-9. When St. Mary’s won the second set, it became just the second instance this season where the Marlins hadn’t swept their opponents.
But it didn’t take Mercy long to shake things off. Once Vogel picked up on some matchup trends happening throughout the first half of the match, she tweaked the lineup, and the Marlins won the final two sets without much of a push.
“We moved things around a little bit,” Vogel said. “I noticed what was going on with us and our defense and match-ups, so we just said we needed to flip it around somewhat.”
That seemed to quiet the boisterous home crowd, allowing the Marlins to get back on their game.
“When there’s a lot of pressure, we like that,” Vogel said. “Especially when you come in to this atmosphere — it’s hot, all the (St. Mary’s cheering section) boys are loud. We love it, OK? So it’s like that’s what we need.”
Senior outside hitter Kate Kalczynski agreed.
“It’s good for us to face adversity, I think,” she said. “In the huddle we trusted each other, and we trusted our training. We go through that in practice all the time. In tough situations, we really pulled through and came together as a team.”
And Kalczynski said the team expects to face more high-pressure situations at Catholic League play wraps up next month before the MHSAA state tournament begins.
“Our league’s super-competitive, so we never settle,” she said. “Every team’s super-talented and everyone’s just fighting to get better. You never know, so we’re just sticking together and pushing ourselves every day at practice.”
The Catholic League’s Central Division got a lot tougher this year. Besides the Marlins, St. Mary’s has won the CHSL’s Cardinal Division tournament for the past four seasons. Last season, they won 26 straight matches and captured a MHSAA district title. CHSL newcomer Detroit Country Day, with whom the Marlins will tangle on Sept. 22, is the two-time defending state champion in Division 2. Mercy defeated Bloomfield Hills Marian, which is ranked No. 2 in the state, in straight sets on Sept. 9. Toledo Notre Dame Academy and St. Ursula Academy are also highly regarded. (St. Ursula is ranked 15th among Ohio schools).
“I like our conference, because every night you have to play, and that’s what we want, and I know every school wants that as well,” Vogel said. “We have to have that competitiveness.”
Kalczynski is leading the charge. The 6-foot-2 Troy resident is playing her fourth season on the Marlins’ varsity squad and helped lead the team to state titles in 2023 and 2025. Kalczynski, who has given her verbal commitment to Penn State University, is the top-rated outside hitter among Michigan high school players, and is a front-runner for the “Miss Volleyball” Award, given to the top senior as voted on by the Michigan Volleyball Coaches Association.
Should Kalczynski earn that award in November, she would be the fifth Mercy player to do so, joining Maddy Doyle (2011), Jess Mruzik (2019), Julia Bishop (2020) and Campbell Flynn (2024). Since the award was first presented in 2003, only Mercy, Marian (twice) and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (twice) can boast having more than one Miss Volleyball.
But what Kalczynski really enjoys most this fall is that she gets to play with a strong support crew that bonds well together. Six-foot setter Kaelyn Easton was named to the coaches’ association’s All-State team last year while a freshman. Junior McKenzie Andrews, an All-League selection last season, is the Marlins’ tallest player, standing 6-foot-6. Junior Cydnee Drake (5'10") is another athletic front-liner.
Three of this year’s freshmen are already contributing: Val Marx (6'4"), Laura Aubrey (6'0") and Cate Verkeyn (5'11").
“They open up everything, especially for me on the outside,” Kalczynski said. “It’s really cool to rely on them and to see them grow. They’re so talented, so I think they have the confidence to play their best. It’s awesome; I’m so proud of them.”
“I think they just understand the game,” Vogel said. “It comes down to playing volleyball. There’s a lot of things that we work on as a program, like how you’re going to be playing with freshmen and seniors. We have a whole program that we go through with everyone in that regards to make that blend work.”
Kalczynski led the team against St. Mary’s with 18 kills, while Aubrey and senior Avery Kapeller had 17 apiece.
“We had multiple hitters,” Vogel said. “At times we could run the middle. They weren’t able to do that as much.”
When asked to provide words that describe her team, Vogel came up with “knowledge,” “perseverance” and “composure.”
“You don’t want highs and you don’t want lows,” she said. “We work to be on this straight line.”
Like her coach, Kalczynski feels her teammates have the ability to play level-headed.
She said, “We want to keep working to get better, never settling, and our end goal is just to be motivated every day.”
