Farmington Hills Mercy Starts Title Defense as 19 Oakland County Districts Open

The 2026 MHSAA volleyball postseason starts this week, and Oakland County teams are entered in 19 district tournaments across all four divisions. Four state champions will be decided over the next three weeks. District play opens Tuesday.

Top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy begins its run at home in District 25, where it hosts the opening round. Mercy is trying to repeat as state champion. Novi is the potential final opponent on paper, but Mercy's depth includes Kate Kalczynski, Kaelyn Easton, and McKenzie Andrews. In District 26 at Berkley, second-ranked Birmingham Marian owns a recent win over Mercy, with Quinn Nelson, Sophia Smith, and Calli LeFevre handling the outside.

Clarkston enters District 8 as the sixth-ranked team, and senior setter Marlie Smith is looking to return to Battle Creek in her final season. Oxford pulled off an upset run through Clarkston and Lake Orion in last year's district. South Lyon East, ranked third, is the team to beat in District 6 behind outside hitter Lexi Coleman and setter Ava Kiernan. Stoney Creek, led by outside hitter Lauren Sheldon, is favored in District 29 at Troy.

Detroit Country Day, the two-time defending Division 2 state champion, is entered in District 63 at Detroit Country Day. Payton Woodruff runs the offense with Sici Guerrant and Cornelia Friedrich on the outside and Leah Green and Aliyah Potapenko in the middle. In Division 3, Royal Oak Shrine hosts a seven-team district, and Oakland Christian is the fifth-ranked team in Division 4 with outside hitter Sofie Williams.

Milford's Lexa Pierson has had a strong 2026 season, and the Mavericks could draw Brighton in the district final at Hartland. Holly opens against Fenton, a team it lost to twice this year. Brandon's Marin Painter has led the blocking effort, and a potential semifinal against Lake Fenton looms in District 61; the two split during the regular season.

The District 86 bracket at Royal Oak Shrine includes Detroit Cristo Rey, Detroit Northwestern, Royal Oak Shrine, Southfield Bradford, Hope of Detroit Academy, Detroit Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, and Detroit Academy of the Americas, which has a bye. District 91 at Burton Bendle requires Flint International Academy, Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac, Waterford Oakside Prep, and Burton Bendle to play in the opening round, with Burton Bentley and Burton Atherton holding byes.