POTTSVILLE - It may have seemed like an impossible dream. A mountain too high to climb.

The Marian girls’ volleyball team looked like it was at the end of its season Wednesday night at Martz Hall.

The Fillies had their backs to the wall against a Pottsville Nativity team that had already handed them a pair of heartbreaking five-set losses this season.

The Fillies looked doomed when Nativity rallied from an opening set loss to pull out two straight wins and put itself on the verge of a District 11 Class 1A championship.

But the Fillies had other plans and showed they had what it takes to be a champion with a 25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-12 victory.

Some may call it the right stuff, but in this case the right stuff was heart and intestinal fortitude.

Trailing 2-1, the Fillies halted the Nativity momentum with a clutch fourth set win.

For the third time this season, the Fillies and Green Wave were going to a fifth set. But this time, the outcome was different as Marian pulled out a the victory to secure its first District 11 title since 2017.

“We had two heartbreaking losses to them earlier in the season,” said Marian’s Tatiana Zeleniak, who turned in a magnificent performance with 34 digs. “They were two exhausting matches and we lost them both in five - it was absolutely heartbreaking,

“We knew what we had to do to prevent that from happening again. We had so much energy and enthusiasm, and we had so much fun tonight.”

Zeleniak was determined to do her part to make sure it didn’t happen again as she came up big time-and-time again down the stretch to prevent Nativity points.

The Fillies’ senior had seven digs in the fourth set, and added four more in the fifth and deciding set.

Early on, it didn’t look like the Fillies were going to need a dramatic comeback to pull out the victory.

Marian nearly rocked the socks off the Green Wave in the first set. It had the poise of a winner pulling away from a 20-17 advantage to a clinching 25-18 win when Alivia Karchner nailed a powerful slam for a kill to clinch the first set.

However, there would be a reversal in the next two sets; and it wasn’t boding well for Marian. The Green Wave turned to their middle hitter, 5-10 junior Francesca Modica, to rule the net, while Samantha Heenan and Kaitlyn Zemantauski were driving the ball hard and strong in the next two sets.

“I told them they had to control their emotions,” said assistant coach Rachel Krajcirik, as Fallabel stood by listening. “I do the lineup, But (assistant coaches) Rachel and Maria (Currie) do all the practicing,” said Fallabel, who talked about how evenly matched the two teams were.

“We played them 15 incredible sets this year,” he said.

In a true champions’ manner, the Fillies started to gather momentum in their corner to open the fourth set. They jumped out to a 13-6 lead riding back-to-back aces off the serve of sophomore Megan Paisley. There was a little stutter-stepping, as Nativity rallied to pull within 18-17.

But the Fillies’ Jamison Wheeler provided the hammer to help to right the ship, as she combined with Karchner and Zeleniak to help Marian pull away down the stretch.

Riding the aggressive and tenacious net play of Kelly Sullivan in the fifth set, Marian was going point-for-point with Nativity.

When the score hit 12-12, Sullivan carved out a kill to put the Fillies on top for good. A Green Wave error created a match point for Marian, and Karchner didn’t waste it as she delivered a hefty slam for the final point.

“This is such an incredible feeling,” Sullivan beamed. “We started out the season not knowing if we would even have a season; we had practices out on the front lawn, ... so to have a full season and then win a district championship has been an incredible journey.”

LINEUP TWEAK ... Fallabel made a lineup change prior for the match, moving Zeleniak to the left side of the back line to counteract the outside hitting of Zemantauski and Heenan, a pair of heavy hitters that rallied the Green Wave in the two previous wins over Marian. It was a move that certainly paid off.

LET US COUNT THE WAYS … Karchner rocked the boat with 22 kills to lead the Fillies in that department, while Rebecca Dzuranin added 10 and Sullivan had six. Nativity’s Heenan had a big night with 27 kills and 33 digs. Livia Lieberman added 28 digs.

KUDOS …. “My hat goes off to Marian. They deserved to win. They played fantastic.” Nativity coach Jennifer Daubert said.

CROWDS ON BOARD ... For the first time this season, fans were permitted into the vast Martz Hall facility. The opener featured Panther Valley and Pine Grove, which also turned into a long, arduous five-set contest won by the Cardinals.

UP NEXT … Marian will get a first-round bye in the PIAA playoffs. The field was narrowed to 12 teams this year, with four byes in the opening round. The Fillies will play a week from Saturday.