Marian rolls into semis unbeaten
POTTSVILLE - Marian's pursuit of the District 11 Class A volleyball title couldn't have gotten off to a better start.
The Fillies, seeded second with a 16-2 record, swept through their preliminary round matches unbeaten Saturday at Martz Hall, earning a berth in Tuesday's semifinals.
Marian went a perfect 10-0, including a two-game victory over nemesis Nativity, which was top seeded and undefeated entering Saturday's action. The Golden Girls had won the previous two meetings with the Fillies during Schuylkill League competition.
"It's the first time we've had a little cohesion against Nativity," said Marian coach John Fallabel. "We were down and came back, which was better than the way it has been going for us. There's light at the end of the tunnel."
In addition to the 25-20, 25-20 victory triumph Nativity, the Fillies posted 2-0 sweeps against Tri-Valley (25-22, 25-22), Pius X (25-10, 25-14), Salem Christian Academy (25-11, 25-13) and Lehigh Valley Christian (25-20, 25-3).
The Fillies received plenty of strong performances in stringing together the five wins.
Rachel Krajcirik had two kills, 113 assists, four aces, 24 digs and six blocks; Tori Vandyak had 22 kills, four assists, two digs and six blocks; Abby Owsinski had 36 kills, one assist, two aces, five digs and 10 blocks; Devin Parambo had 32 kills, five aces, 42 digs and five blocks; and Marykate Sherkness had 16 kills, 10 digs and four blocks.
Sarah Connely was also strong at the net with 12 kills and 12 blocks. Taylor Mele had a strong serving day, racking up 39 service points and 15 aces to go with 92 digs. Kathleen Cataldo had 26 digs and an ace and Katie Collevechio had three kills, 10 aces and 29 digs.
Kathleen Reilly came off the bench to key the victory against Nativity, scoring seven kills and two blocks, according to Fallabel.
Marian returns to Martz Hall Tuesday night for the semifinal round. In the 6 p.m. opener, Nativity will face Tri-Valley in the opener at 6 p.m. while the Fillies take on Lehigh Valley Christian at approximately 7:30. The winners advance to the semifinals on Thursday, also at Martz Hall.
