It’s a rivalry that’s rooted in mutual respect. The Holy Wars are intense, heated and beloved by the combatants.

The second meeting of the season between the Marian and Nativity volleyball teams at Jack Malarkey Gymnasium was not what was expected on Tuesday.

The Fillies avenged a loss earlier in the season, sweeping the Golden Girls in straight sets, 25-21, 25-18. 25-8 in a Schuylkill League Division 2 contest.

“They handled us the first time we played,” Marian head coach Maria Currie said of a 3-1 defeat in the first meeting on Aug. 29.

The difference maker? Marian was still finding its footing in its second match of the season.

Now, this team — which has won five straight — is starting to come to fruition, having already clinched a spot in the District 11 playoffs and currently the top team in Class 1A.

“Our rotations weren’t really where I wanted them to be,” Currie said. “We were such a new team the first time we met. I thought (at times) we made too many errors, and if we can clean it up a little better, I think we can be a pretty good team.”

The opening set was what everyone expected from these two standout programs. There were seven ties, the last coming at 21-21.

And then there was one big swoosh, as Marian rang up four unanswered points. Lara Viktoria Cancio got it rolling with a kill, Maddy Davis stepped up for a soft kill, sensational sophomore outside hitter Kali Grochowski blasted a kill, and Isabella Horvat snapped an ace to end the opening set.

“We were scrappy tonight, more than we were the first time we played them,” said Horvat, Marian’s splendid outside hitter. “The last time we played we were just learning about each other. We are starting to gel now, and that’s the big difference.”

It also helped that her team was spreading the attack up and down the lineup. If it wasn’t Horvat, there was Davis and Grochowski finding ways to chip in, as well as Caydense Smith and Eris Hayes.

In the first set, Nativity had its share of moments. It rallied around the strong play of Finley McNamara, Julianna Carlson and Sara Spolski, but it just couldn’t stay steady enough.

Where it came up short was the return game and its inability to register ace points. The Green Wave had only one ace in the three sets.

Meanwhile, Marian started to play fearless, reeling off five straight points to claim the second set. In the third, it was a snowball effect, with the Fillies building momentum with each serve.

Leading 8-5, Marian registered nine of the next 10 points to build a commanding 17-6 lead.

Marian finished with an 8-1 run to clinch the decision.

“I was so proud of Maddy Davis, a sophomore, she had six kills,” Currie said. “She’s a chameleon on the court, and she does whatever you want, like all the girls … they just want to play and win.”

This chapter of the Holy Wars was a dominating performance in favor of Marian. A rarity at that.

And that was not lost on Currie.

“If we meet them again, they’re going to be a different team. They’re very good, and we saw that the first time,” Currie said.

AMAZING … Marian had five aces in the third set, which is not odd. But what is odd, it committed just five errors in that span. It committed only 30 total errors overall. Nativity had 45 errors.

SHE SAID IT … “We’ve been working on our intensity level in practice, and keeping it and not let it drop down,” Currie said on getting her team to play at peak levels.

HE COMETH ... Monsignor John Chismar sat at midcourt for The Holy Wars Part 2 — surely providing blessings. He’s a Nativity alum, and was watching his niece Grochowski of Marian. The Monsignor is in residence in the Poconos.

Nativity 21 18 8

Marian 25 25 25

Stat leaders

Marian - Horvat 7 kills, 15 digs, 2 aces; Davis 6 kills, 4 digs, 2 aces; Grochowski 4 kills, 12 digs 1 ace; Smith 4 aces, 16 digs; Hayes 23 assists 7 digs, 2 aces.

Records: Nativity (7-4; 7-2 SL); Marian (10-3; 8-1 SL)