Marian Central rallies to reach state title match

Marian Central's Meredith Patterson (left) and Abby Gilleland dive for the ball during the IHSA Class 3A state semifinals against Marian Catholic on Friday at Redbird Arena in Normal. Marian Central won, 20-25, 25-18, 25-23. (Sarah Nader - snader@shawmedia.com)

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NORMAL – Already down a game to Marian Catholic in the Class 3A state semifinals, the Marian Central Hurricanes could have folded under the pressure.

They could have given up. They could have hung their heads in frustration.

But that’s not Marian Central’s style.

Instead, with little room for error, the Hurricanes brushed off the 25-20 Game 1 loss, refocused and channeled their previous Redbird Arena experience for a dramatic three-set win.

They face Breese Mater Dei (38-3) at 5:30 p.m. today for the title. The Knights defeated the Hurricanes’ Suburban Christian Conference Blue Division rival St. Francis, 25-19, 25-11, in the other semifinal.

“Once we got to the second game, I knew we were going to be fine because that’s how we play,” setter Abby Gilleland said.

The Hurricanes showed no signs of a Game 1 hangover, bouncing back to win Game 2 handily.

In the decisive third set, the Hurricanes’ resiliency and tenacity paid off. Clinging to a 24-23 lead, Marian Central outside hitter Tara Blake ended a furious Spartans rally, delivering a kill that sealed the Hurricanes’ 20-25, 25-18, 25-23 win and put them in the title match.

“We just really wanted to end it,” Blake said. “We didn’t want to have to push into extra points and even take that risk, so we wanted to finish it there.

“It was a big relief.”

The Hurricanes are guaranteed to better last year’s third-place finish and positioned to capture their program’s first state volleyball title and Marian Central’s first state championship in any sport in 13 years.

“It’s still unreal, but we’ve proved that we’re here and that we’re here for a reason and that we can do it,” Blake said.

Nothing seemed to go right for Marian Central (35-6) in the first set. Whether it was nerves or just too many errors, the Hurricanes found themselves trailing, 9-2, and never recovered against Marian Catholic (24-17).

“Marian Catholic gave us everything [we] could possibly handle,” Hurricanes coach Laura Watling said. “They were really, really aggressive, but I was so proud of this team for fighting back. That’s one thing we do, is we don’t give up.”

In Game 3, the teams were tied eight times but traded leads only twice. A Marian Catholic service error put the Hurricanes ahead, 13-12, and they never trailed again, though the Spartans tied the game 19-19 after a Hurricanes lift. Back-to-back Marian Catholic errors and a Gilleland tip eliminated that threat, however.

As they have all season, the Hurricanes didn’t need to rely on just one hitter. Three players – Gilleland, Blake and outside hitter Emma Hussey – finished with 10 kills each to lead Marian Central.

“I feel like that was the definition of our season pushed into one match because I can honestly say that every game there is one person that I know in that game I can just go to,” Gilleland said. “ … This match I felt like every five points, a new person stepped up for that spot because everyone was willing to take it and take responsibility for it. Confidence has never been a problem.”

The Hurricanes’ passing improved dramatically in the second and third games and that consistency allowed Gilleland to methodically pick apart the defense with both her sets to the Marian Central hitters and deep tips to the corners.

“It’s my best friend,” Gilleland said of her tip game. “It really is.”