If you are on the inside, you know all about the Holy Wars when it comes to Marian and Nativity – especially on the volleyball floor.

Right now, the Green Wave has the upper hand.

On Monday at Lehighton High School, Nativity defeated Marian for the second time this season - this one coming in the quarterfinal round of the Schuylkill League playoffs.

In this matchup, you better have your intensity level at a high peak and your play better match that. Because when the two powerhouse programs meet, there is very little room for error.

“I have so much respect for their program and their coaches - it is always a war between our teams,” said Nativity coach Jen Daubert after her team’s 25-15, 21-25, 25-21 25-21 victory.

There were plenty of swings in momentum yesterday, but in the end, the Green Wave had a few more big runs than the Fillies.

“It definitely was a night of runs by both teams,” said Marian coach Maria Serina, who had to know that a couple of points here or there could have produced a different result.

Marian had to withstand the rangy and tall front line of Nativity’s Arieanna Sherman (6-1) and Juliana Carlson (5-11).

Make no mistake, the Fillies found ways to ward off slams as the undersized trio of Gianna Griguoli, Julia Meiss and Jenna Goff were junkyard tough, but the waves were eventually too strong for them to curtail.

“We had some errors, and Nativity was able to take advantage of those,” Serina said. “But I think we made it interesting.”

That’s an understatement.

After an opening game where Nativity seemed overpowering, the Fillies rebounded and the final three games were extremely tight.

In the opening game, Nativity used an 8-0 run with Emma Bolich at the service line to take immediate control. The Fillies got no closer than 19-12 as Nativity once again pulled away to close out the win.

“There were big service runs on both sides,” Daubert said. “This is a typical Nativity-Marian match. I give a lot of credit to their kids. They really turned things around after the first game.”

Indeed, that was the case when Marian had it’s A-game back in gear in the second game. Trailing 7-4, Marian turned to server Goff who punched out a pair of aces, while also getting huge kills from Megan Paisley and Megan Reaman to shoot in front 13-7.

Nativity kept nipping at the Fillies’ heels and surged to a 19-17 lead. But undaunted, Marian fought back to tie the match at 21-21, before Paisley and Goff stepped to the fore with both recording aces as the Fillies evened things up with a 25-21 win.

But Nativity rebounded to take the momentum back.

The Green Wave built a 21-14 lead in game three. The Fillies didn’t go down easily, however, as they rallied to slice the lead to 24-21, before a Marian error afforded Nativity the winning point.

“We needed to play a much cleaner game,” Serina said. “Against a team as good as Nativity is, we need to cut down on our errors if we want to beat them.”

In game four, the teams were tied at 20-20 thanks to a Marian comeback led by Abbey Kluck. But a pair of late errors doomed the Fillies’ fate as Nativity closed out the match.

TRUE GRIT

… Marian had to contend with a huge Nativity height advantage on the frontline. The Fillies battled, but in the end they were worn down physically.

ADDING IT UP

… Paisley had 10 kills and 11 assists to lead the Fillies. Geoff had seven aces and Griguoli added four blocks. Leading Nativity were Sherman with 12 kills, Emma Liberman with nine digs, and Ryleigh Sinko with 24 assists.