INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian volleyball team began their postseason with a strong 3-0 sweep on Saturday night, winning their Crossroads League Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against Huntington. Marian's sweep gives the team a 22-7 overall record as they head to the semifinal round.
Marian's sweep started strong, as Mikayla Christian got the team on a role under her first service run, igniting a 5-2 run to gain an early advantage. A 3-0 run paced by an
Emma Lyons service ace gave the team an 8-3 lead, while a 5-1 swing featuring a pair of spikes by
Gabby Fish gave the home team a 13-6 advantage. Marian continued their strong attack, as
Nicole Wilkinson's offense and
Madison Brooks' defense surged the Knights into a double-digit lead, as Marian rolled to a 25-14 set one victory.
In the second set, the Knights jumped out to a quick lead, running their offense through Wilkinson, Brooks, and
Khori Dryden as the team built a 6-2 lead. The Knights never relinquished their lead, and pushed in front 12-10 before stepping on the pedal. A block by Brooks and
Sarah Bennett sparked a 4-0 run, giving Marian a 16-10 lead with full control in the set. The offense continued to find holes in the Huntington defense, and Marian ended the set on a dominant 4-0 run, getting two kills from
Mikayla Christiansen as they closed the second set win by a 25-13 count.
The final set showed the most fight by Huntington, who aimed to extend their season in any way possible. The set opened in a back and forth attack between the two sides of the net, with the Foresters gathering multiple holds of the lead. Marian was able to pull ahead 11-8 thanks to a kill from Wilkinson, but the Foresters would chip back, using a 6-0 lead to overtake the home team and lead 18-15. A substitution and service error got Marian the side out they needed, and got the team back in rhythm as three unanswered points tied the set 18-18. Huntington would score the next two points, but could not keep Marian down, as Christiansen and
Lexa Zimmerman ignited a 5-0 run to give Marian a 23-20 lead. After the Foresters' final timeout, Marian would run the offense through Christiansen and Wilkinson, as the hitters scored the final two points to win the set 25-22.
As a team, Marian recorded a .288 hitting percentage in their three-set win, while putting up 72 digs and nine total blocks. Wilkinson led the team in kills with 10 on 15 attacks, while Christiansen had nine and Dryden had eight.
Gabby Fish had eight kills in the win, and
Madison Brooks finished with seven. Wilkinson and Brooks each had a team-high five block assists, and
Logan Smith had the lone double-double of the day, recording 22 assists and 15 digs.
Emma Lyons had a team-high 18 digs, and
Emerson Evans had 18 assists to go with eight digs in the victory.
Marian's win advances them to the CL Tournament Semifinals, where they will play Mount Vernon Nazarene. The game will take place in Ohio, and is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start.
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