Farmington, Farmington Hills

Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball heading to quarters

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Andrew Potter Farmington Hills Mercy's Mary Dulzo sets up a teammate in a Class A regional semifinal. The Marlins won the region, beating Livonia Stevenson in three games Nov. 8 at Farmington High. Photo by Andrew Potter Farmington Hills Mercy's Mary Dulzo sets up a teammate in a Class A regional semifinal. The Marlins won the region, beating Livonia Stevenson in three games Nov. 8 at Farmington High.

FARMINGTON — Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball punched its ticket to the Class A quarterfinal.

The Marlins beat Livonia Stevenson 25-18, 25-14 and 25-20 Nov. 8 at Farmington High.

After taking the first game, the second was tied at  4-4 before Mercy went on a run and never looked back.

"I think we kind of started off a little rough coming out of the first game. We were confident, but at the same time, I think we knew what we had to do to get it done," Mercy senior Mary Dulzo said. "We had to serve hard, we had to pass well, and as soon as we were at 4-4, we knew we had to (turn) it on."

Mercy never trailed in the third game, though the squads exchanged multiple ties as Stevenson kept battling.

"They have been fighters the entire season, and they ended up fighting until the final point," Stevenson coach Kelly Graham said. "We kept plugging away, but Mercy put everything back up that we gave them."

The Spartans end the season 27-17-2, while Mercy goes to 46-10.

"It feels great. The whole season we've been working towards this. We've been trying to get to states since the beginning. I'm just so excited to continue on," Dulzo said.

Mercy takes on the winner of Dearborn High and Temperance Bedford at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Gibralter Carlson.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062. Follow Christian on Twitter.