POTTSVILLE – Panther Valley’s Magic Genie left the building.

Better yet, she was nowhere to be found for a heavy-hearted PV volleyball team.

The defending Schuylkill League volleyball champions just couldn’t come up with another answer against a very strong Pottsville club Thursday evening in the finals of the tournament.

The Crimson Tide completed a three-game sweep by scores of 25-11, 25-14 and 25-20.

It was something Pottsville could not do in the final regular season game against the Panthers. It had Panther Valley on the ropes in that meeting, up 2-0, then watched the Panthers come storming back to pull off a shocker in five sets. It also ruined the Tide’s chances of a perfect league season.

This time, Pottsville made sure not to allow such a rally.

“They’re a great team, we played the way I thought we can play,” said Pottsville head coach Marie Sherakas, who has won her share of titles during her tenure. “They had this goal in sight since they lost last year.”

Pottsville never left off the throttle. And it began right from the first set.

The Tide jumped in front 9-2 with Ava Schwartz in the hole, serving up the run before Panther Valley standout Morgan Orsulak stopped the rally with a windmill kill.

However, PV was fighting an uphill battle from the onset, as it watched the eventual winners stay on top, coasting to the first win after getting two straight kills from sophomore Rhyan Brennan.

The second set started better for Panther Valley, trailing the Tide by just an 8-6 score, and there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. But Pottsville quickly put that to rest, shooting in front 17-7. The Tide then scored four of the final five points, putting the Panthers in a deep bind.

“I was telling them all week that when we get down, it was going to eventually catch up to us,” PV mentor Emily Hannis said in a disappointing tone. “I said who was going to be more consistent was going to win the match.”

So true and prophetic were Hannis’ words.

Nearly a mirror image of the first set, Pottsville again clicked by zooming in front 15-4, and the handwriting was starting to appear on the wall.

There were terrific plays up and down the Tide lineup, especially from Schwartz, Megan Yost and Brennan to begin the third and final set. Maggie Brennan, older sister of Rhyan, also blistered the Panthers with blocked shots and kills.

Even though Panther Valley interrupted Pottsville’s run and pulled within 15-10, the Tide turned to Schwartz — a sophomore — to get back in the flow of the rally and regain momentum.

“We just played so well together,” Schwartz said. “Even though we lost to them, I just wanted to play my game. Our communication was a lot better, and we made plays and didn’t let them get any (momentum). It was our goal (leading) up to this game.”

Pottsville reworked its defense, Sherakas said.

“(Our) defense was stellar, we had to make less mistakes against a great team — and they are a great team.”

Plus, they readjusted their defense.

“We picked up their shots and we moved around,” Sherakas said of the approach. “I wanted to keep my setter away from Morgan (Orsulak). We made a ton of adjustments.”

THE LEADERS ... Orsulak collected 10 kills, 10 assists and 13 digs, while Caroline Breslin posted 22 digs and Natalie Vermillion added 16 digs. The Tide was led by Lainey Dusel’s 23 digs. Yost checked in with a whopping 38 assists.

TOUGH TO STOP … Dusel has a fierce stroke on her kills, and it created a lot of issues for the Panther Valley defense.

UP NEXT … Both teams are in the District 11 Class 3A tournament, which gets underway next week.