Size matters in volleyball.

The team that controls the net usually controls the match.

Marian did exactly that in Saturday’s PIAA Class 1A quarterfinal round victory over Canton as Alivia Karchner and Kelly Sullivan turned in powerful performances at the net.

But as well as the Fillies’ frontline played in the 25-18, 25-15, 25-23 victory, it was the smallest player on the court who might have made the biggest impact.

Marian’s 5-3 libero Tatiana Zeleniak was a noticeable force throughout the match as time-after-time she made plays to extend the Fillies’ momentum or stop Canton’s.

“Tatiana really played well,” said Marian coach John ”Doc” Fallabel. “She always leads us in digs and her passing rating is among the best we’ve ever had during my time at Marian. She is so accurate.

“She also has the ability to make an impact at the service line. When she gets on a roll, she can control a game with her serve.”

Against the Warriors, Zeleniak excelled in all three of those areas.

She led the Fillies with team-high totals of 14 digs, 13 service points, and five aces, and when she wasn’t making spectacular digs, she was getting to every free ball and providing the passes to setter Ashlyn Klitsch that started the Fillies’ offense.

Just for good measure, Zeleniak was also providing leadership and some big-game experience to a Marian team that was making its first state tournament appearance since 2017.

Zeleniak, a freshman serving specialist on that team, was one of only two current Fillies who had significant roles during the team’s run to the state championship game that year.

“I tried to let the underclassmen know that playing in states won’t be like any other game they played before,” said Zeleniak. “It’s a different level.

“When I was out there today, I had the mindset that every point, every game could be the last one of my high school career, and I tried to pass that attitude on to everyone on the court.”

The other Fillie player with state playoff experience was Karchner, and she flashed that experience early with powerful kills to account for the first three points of the match. Marian never lost that early advantage as it led wire-to-wire to post the 25-18 opening-game win. Karchner finished the game with nine kills.

The second game was Marian’s most dominant of the match. The Fillies jumped out to a 12-2 lead as Zeleniak strung together an early six-point service run and Rebecca Dzuranin controlled play at the net. Klitsch also delivered at the service line with five points, including the game winner as Marian cruised to a 25-15 win.

“I thought we played really well today,” said Fallabel. “We are clicking as a team. Everyone we played contributed.”

But Canton, which entered the match as the four-time reigning District 4 champion and had lost only twice in 18 matches this season, wasn’t going down without a fight.

The Warriors jumped out to an 11-7 lead and were still ahead 19-17 when the Fillies made their move. A four-point service run from Dzuranin, that featured a pair of Megan Paisley kills and a Sullivan block, put Marian ahead 22-19. Canton fought back to tie the score at 23-23, but Karchner delivered a kill and Paisley followed with a service winner to send the Fillies into the next round.

“Canton is a good, solid team,” said Fallabel. “They have some really nice players. We watched some videos of them and knew we would have to play well.

“They played a really good third game, but our girls found it within themselves to make the plays we needed down the stretch.”

ELITE PASSER

... Zeleniak has a career passing rating of nearly 2.5 according to Fallabel. To put that in perspective, Jasmine Mooney, who Fallabel described as “one of the best players in Fillies’ history and an outstanding passer,” had a 1.9 rating for her career. Mooney led Marian’s 2017 run to the state finals and is a current standout at East Stroudsburg University.

STATS

... Karchner finished with 16 kills and had an outstanding .305 hitting percentage. Sullivan added four kills and a team-high six blocks; Dzuranin and Paisley added four kills apiece; and Klitsch had 24 assists.

FINAL FOUR

... Marian advances to the PIAA semifinal round where it will play District 1 champ Sacred Heart Academy on Tuesday at 6 p.m., at Marian.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

... This will be Marian’s 11th appearance in the PIAA semifinal round in Fallabel’s 18 years as head coach.