MINERSVILLE — Marian senior Alex Stroia kept striking the ball, even though Nativity sent two girls at her to block her attempts.
By the finish of Thursday’s District 11 Class A championship girls’ volleyball match at Minersville Area High School, Stroia had 10 kills and 10 digs, and Marian had its third straight district championship with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-10 sweep of the Green Wave, who have become a traditional rival at this level for the Fillies (22-0).
“Before we came down here tonight, I took them to the banners,” Marian head coach John Fallabel said, referring to the Marian gymnasium and past district title banners. “... I had them pick out the 2010 team. They were 20-1 and had beaten Nativity five times during the season. ... Perfect season until one loss in the district championship (to Nativity). Go home.
“They sat there and they stared at that.”
By the finish of Thursday’s match, the Fillies had overcome the Green Wave hurdle, but also knew they had been tested.
The Green Wave’s 52 points were the second-most points scored against Marian in a dual match this season, as only Notre Dame Green Pond scored more with 70.
“In the first two games, we gave them everything we had,” Nativity head coach Jennifer Daubert said after the Green Wave’s season ended with an 18-5 record. She added, “We kind of fell apart in the third game, but we came out strong and ran the offense at times.”
Meanwhile, Nativity’s defense included the double block on the outside hitter, an obstacle that Stroia confronted with the very first point. She hit the ball off the block and the ball dropped out of bounds, giving Marian the initial lead.
As the match progressed, Stroia and others duplicated the play.
“Tonight, we tried to use the block to our advantage and get the kills that we could,’’ Stroia said. “Sometimes it was in the block, but sometimes it paid off and we got the kill.”
Fallabel said the counter to Nativity’s block came down to fundamentals.
“Hit it off their hands. It doesn’t matter what their angle is. If their angle is right, the ball’s going straight down,” he said, adding, “Alex made a living off it. She had one of her best games.”
After Stroia’s initial kill of the match, Marian got the serve and Emily Pilla recorded three of her four aces in the match as Marian ran out to a 6-0 lead. Stroia added two more kills as the Fillies rolled to a 13-5 advantage.
However, taking advantage of Marian’s three service errors and five hitting errors in the set, Nativity scored nine of the next 13 points and trailed 17-14, but a Nativity service error and Pilla’s fourth ace stopped the momentum.
Still, Nativity was able to answer two kills by Marian’s Abby Stankiewitch with two by Jocelyn Holobetz. After Marian led 21-17, both teams committed a series of errors for points. Nativity fought off set points twice, including an ace by Carley Lionetto, before Nativity’s Ashley Strausser sent a shot into the net to end the set.
The second set then featured six ties, the last at 11. Three hitting errors by Nativity put Marian in front, and the Fillies were able to hold off the Green Wave.
“It was the most fun that we’ve had this season other than Notre Dame Green Pond, which were close games,” Fallabel said of the first two sets. “We love close games. That’s what volleyball is all about.”
However, the third set did not follow the pattern.
Abby O’Donnell, who had 25 assists and seven digs in the match, served six straight points, featuring two kills by Pilla, to launch the Fillies to a 13-3 lead that eventually grew to 19-4.
Later, the Fillies’ Courtney McCall served the final three points, starting with freshman Jasmine Mooney’s kill off a Nativity double block and ending with a service ace that landed between two Nativity defenders.
Lauren Nietz had 17 digs for the Fillies while Pilla finished with 11. Maureen Kloap added three aces and eight digs and Stankiewitch had five kills.
For Nativity, Holobetz added 12 digs to her match-leading 15 kills and a block. Noelle Steele posted 17 assists, five digs and four aces. Lionetto had 12 digs and Strausser had 13.
Thursday’s win was Marian’s 36th in a row, including 23 in succession by a three-set sweep.
On the other hand, Nativity took its third loss against Marian this season, adding Thursday’s setback to a regular-season defeat and the loss in the Schuylkill League championship match.
Still, Daubert said her Green Wave, who fielded just one senior, will be a better team in 2015 for the experience in the postseason.
“You cannot teach some of the experience that these girls have gained,” Daubert said.
Lititz Christian 3
Millersburg 2
PLEASUREVILLE — Taryn Herb had 19 kills and 22 digs for Millersburg, but Lititz Christian won the first two sets and defeated the Indians, 25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 29-25, 15-9, in the District 3 Class A Tournament semifinals.
Samantha Hines had 11 kills and 21 digs for the Indians, whose season ends at 17-5. Kelsey Koppenhaver had 31 digs, Jessica Millard posted 18, Kori Hirsch had 17 and Amber Roach, who had 37 assists, added 12.
Alexis Erick led Lititz Christian, which opposes Mount Calvary Christian in Saturday’s final, with 24 kills and 21 digs.