Loretta Vogel, varsity volleyball coach at Farmington Hills' Mercy High School, has been named the Catholic High School League Coaches Association 2026 Volleyball Coach of the Year.
Mercy announced the honor Wednesday, Oct. 14. The award comes during a season in which the Marlins earned a No. 20 national ranking in MaxPreps’ Oct. 6 poll, which listed their record at 27-4.
Vogel has coached at Mercy since 2009. In that span she has led the Marlins to three state championships and coached two Gatorade National Volleyball Players of the Year, according to the school. Mercy won the Division 1 state title in 2019, 2023 and 2025, according to its championship records, and entered 2026 as the defending champion.
The honor is the second major coaching award for Vogel this year. In June, the Detroit Free Press named her its Lifetime Achievement Award winner in recognition of 50 years of coaching.
This season's Mercy roster blends veteran talent with youth. Senior outside hitter Kate Kalczynski, a Penn State commit who started as a freshman on the 2023 state championship team, leads the attack, according to The Oakland Press.
Sophomore setter Kaelyn Easton won a gold medal with Team USA at the FIVB Girls' U17 World Championship in Chile before the high school season began, as confirmed by her USA Volleyball profile. Three freshmen cracked the varsity rotation from the start, The Oakland Press reported.
"It's an eye-opening experience when the ball comes over faster and harder, and everything moves at a faster pace," Vogel told The Oakland Press in August after Mercy swept a quad tournament at Bloomfield Hills. "It's a great experience for these kids to get, but we also have the confidence in them that they can handle it."
That confidence has translated to results. The Marlins swept No. 3 Marian 3-0 on Sept. 9, winning 25-21, 27-25, 25-21 behind 19 kills from freshman Laura Aubrey and 17 from Kalczynski, according to Mercy's athletics site. Easton dished 46 assists in that match.
Mercy picked up a win over Divine Savior Holy Angels of Milwaukee at the Asics Challenge before dropping matches to Assumption and Marist, per MaxPreps.
