HOMETOWN — Lehighton’s girls’ volleyball team showed up for Tuesday’s Schuylkill League Division I-II crossover match with shirts that detail the Indians’ season.
“Welcome to the Grind,” they said.
“It’s been a grind,” Lehighton head coach T.J. O’Connor said about the match Tuesday night in the Marian gymnasium. “It’s hot in here. It’s hot outside. You’re working hard.”
It hasn’t helped the Indians that they have faced Division II’s top two teams in back-to-back days.
After Panther Valley rode Jamey Mikovich’s 24 kills to sweep three sets from Lehighton on Monday, Marian also took a 3-0 win Tuesday with a 25-15, 25-18, 25-16 victory over the Indians.
In all three sets, Marian broke away midway through the sets to win each.
“Unfortunately, Marian’s depth just gets you,” O’Connor said. “They have Jasmine Mooney, who is a phenomenal hitter. They have some other hitters that can put the ball away.”
Mooney led the Fillies (8-2, 8-0 D-II) with nine kills while Abby Stankiewitch, honored for her 700th career kill before Tuesday’s third set, and Maureen Kloap each had six.
The Fillies also got back another outside hitter in Miranda Antiga, who had missed most of the season because of injury.
Said Marian head coach John Fallabel: “She’s confused why she’s playing libero. I said, ‘You’re back and the other one’s injured. Play libero in the second half (of the season) until the other one comes back. Then we’re going to move positions again.’ ”
Despite the uncertainty, Marian has not only qualified for the District 11 Class A postseason, but is also ranked second in Class A in the Pennsylvania State Volleyball Coaches Association state rankings.
Lehighton’s bid to qualify for the district tournament is still a work in progress.
“We need four more (wins) to get into districts in Double-A, so we have six or seven matches coming up where it’s going to be a push,” O’Connor said. “We don’t consider anybody an easy win this time of year.”
That was particularly the case Tuesday for the Indians (5-5, 4-4 D-I), yet Lehighton went out to a 6-2 lead in the second set behind a pair of aces by Tori Eads-Rodriguez.
But the Indians were unable to keep momentum.
Trailing 9-6, Marian’s Courtney McCall served seven straight points. Mooney and Abby Pilla, who had five kills in the match, each posted two kills as the Fillies took a 13-9 lead. Lehighton never regained the lead.
Similar circumstances occurred in the other two sets.
The teams were tied 8-8 in the opening set when Mooney served three straight points, including an ace, to give Marian the lead to stay.
In the third set, Lehighton came back from a 9-4 deficit to tie the set 12-12, but Marian scored five of the next six points. Then, with a 19-16 lead, Marian scored the match’s final six points behind Mooney’s serve and Pilla’s two kills.
Fallabel said Mooney’s value has become evident as the season progressed.
“Jasmine has proven herself to be my outside hitter in the past couple of weeks,” Fallabel said. “Especially tonight. She dominated tonight.”
McCall helped the Fillies with 22 assists and three aces, while Antiga had 18 digs and Kloap added 10.
Lehighton was paced by Katie Higgins, who posted six kills and 14 digs. Alyssa Jordan added four kills and seven digs while Eads-Rodriguez had 12 assists.
In the junior varsity match, Marian swept the Indians, 25-20, 25-15.