Tri-Valley's Liv Lupole goes for one of her 22 kills against Nativity during a District 11 Class A girls' volleyball semifinal Thursday at Minersville Area High School. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

MINERSVILLE — Tied with Nativity at one set apiece, Tri-Valley found itself in unfamiliar territory.

Match after match, the Bulldogs posted sweep after sweep, including a pair against the Green Wave during the regular season.

This was different. This was the District 11 Class A girls’ volleyball semifinals Thursday evening at Minersville Area High School. This was win or go home. All or nothing. And Nativity was challenging for every ball, playing perhaps its best match of the season.

It took four long sets, but Tri-Valley found enough firepower and enough defense to pull out a 25-23, 15-25, 25-17, 27-25 victory over the Green Wave.

With the win, the top-seeded Dawgs (20-1) return to the championship match for the second straight season. The opponent will be Schuylkill League Division II rival and second seed Marian (16-6), which ousted No. 6 Salem Christian in straight sets in the first semifinal. The match is also a rematch of last year’s district final, won by Tri-Valley. Championship match time is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Martz Hall.

“We were kind of all over the place tonight,” Tri-Valley coach Courtney Scheib said. “We fought back, and they were ready to play, too. So it was a good match. I think the key was just staying with what we know, and just using what we know to keep pounding the ball and keep swinging. We just have to work on consistency, and that’s what worked for us in the times that we did get points.”

What the Dawgs know is how to keep balls in play, turn defense into offense and go on the attack.

The stat sheet is filled with contributions up and down the roster. Liv Lupole led the way with 22 kills, 13 service points, six digs and four aces. Faith Melocheck turned in a double-double with 16 kills, 10 digs and one ace, as did setter Callie Melocheck with 43 assists, 17 digs and one kill.

Libero and defensive specialist Kirra Klinger made 36 digs and one assist. In the process, Klinger surpassed the 1,000-dig milestone for her career.

In addition, Kylie Clemmer notched 11 service points, three aces and two digs; Emma Moore added three kills and two digs; Lexi Lesher chipped in four kills and one dig; and Hope Bruso made eight digs.

It took everybody to finally turn back fourth-seeded Nativity (14-9), which kept it close early and led the first set 23-22. The Dawgs then showed their championship mettle by winning the next three points. Faith Melocheck’s kill from the back row tied the set at 23. A Nativity error set up set point, and Callie Melocheck set up Lupole for the clinching kill.

The Green Wave stormed back in the second set, jumping out to a 9-4 lead before Tri-Valley tied the set at 14-all. Suddenly, Nativity went on an 11-1 run to take the set 25-15 and tie the match at one set apiece. Some Tri-Valley errors helped the Green Wave’s cause as did an ace from Morgan Howell and a pair of kills down the stretch from Finley McNamara, including one on set point.

So on they went, deep into the second hour of play. Tri-Valley led the third set 15-8, extended the advantage to 23-15 and ran it out from there. Lupole’s cross-court kill off a Callie Melocheck assist clinched a 2-1 lead.

Nativity wasn’t done yet, taking a 12-7 lead in Set 4 before Tri-Valley rallied to tie at 17-all. Exchanging long, spirited, scrambling rallies, the teams tied at 21, 23, 24 and 25. Finally, a Faith Melocheck kill off a Callie Melocheck assist and a Lupole ace gave the Dawgs a 27-25 win and the match.

For Nativity, Lily Baran led the way with 10 kills. Finley McNamara added eight kills and five blocks, while Addisan Ricard made 25 assists and 10 digs.

“There are not enough words that I have to describe what these kids laid out on the floor tonight,” Nativity coach Jennifer Daubert said. “If we were going to go down, the only thing you can hope for as a coach is that they lay everything out on the floor. They put their hearts, the put their minds, they put everything that they possibly could and left it all out on the floor tonight.

“They were aggressive. They cut down on their mistakes. They hustled and scrambled and went after every single ball,” Daubert added. “It’s just the fighting spirit that every one of them has, and the only sad part I can say is that we don’t get to come together as a group tomorrow when we get back on the practice floor because every single day they just got on the floor with a positive mindset and wanted to get better. … I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

District 11 Class A Semifinal

Marian 3, Salem Christian 0

MINERSVILLE — The first District 11 Class A semifinal Thursday at Minersville was all Marian.

The second-seeded Fillies overwhelmed sixth-seeded Salem Christian from the start and never let up in posting a 25-7, 25-17, 25-17 victory.

“We had Coach (Stan) Dakosty come in to practice and give us a little pep talk,” Marian coach Maria Currie said.

Marian (16-6) advances to meet No. 1 Tri-Valley (20-1), a 3-1 winner over Nativity in the other semifinal. The championship match will be at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Martz Hall. The Dawgs defeated the Fillies in last season’s championship match.

Marian jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set to set the tone for the match against Salem Christian. The lead soared to 20-4, and the Fillies ran out the set from there. The Fillies grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in Set 2 and steadily built a 20-9 advantage. Salem Christian (12-11) made a bit of a run, but a Lara Cancio kill clinched a 2-0 lead. Salem Christian made it more of a battle in the third set, tying at 13-all midway through. Marian, though, finished on a 12-4 run to clinch the match in straight sets. Consecutive kills by Kali Grochowski and Alena Lombardo ended it.

Cancio finished with eight kills, four aces, two digs and one assist, while Grochowski notched 11 kills, four aces and four digs. Lombardo added seven kills, one assist and one dig. Also for the Fillies, JoElle Currie posted 22 assists, five digs and one ace; and Eris Hayes compiled nine assists, four kills, four digs and one ace.

“We had someone who was sick, so we had to change our lineup a little bit,” Maria Currie said. “But it goes to show you that we have all the pieces, they just can go in different spots. They’re really starting to mesh and communicate very well.”

District 11 Class AA Semifinals

Pine Grove 3, Pen Argyl 0

POTTSVILLE — Lily Flynn smacked 15 kills with four aces and two digs to spark second-seeded Pine Grove past No. 3 Pen Argyl 25-18, 25-13, 25-13 in a District 11 Class AA semifinal at Martz Hall.

Molly Drumheller added 17 digs and one ace, while Graycie Griffiths posted nine digs and four kills for the Cardinals (11-10).

Pen Argyl finishes the season 11-13.

Pine Grove advances to the final to meet No. 1 seed Mahanoy Area, a 3-0 winner over Williams Valley in the second semifinal. Championship match time is 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Martz Hall.

Mahanoy Area 3, Williams Valley 0

POTTSVILLE — Hailey Mroczka had 12 kills, 15 digs, one ace and one assist to lead top-seeded Mahanoy Area to a 25-12, 25-14, 25-20 victory over fourth-seeded Williams Valley in a District 11 Class AA semifinal at Martz Hall.

Ava Kowalchick added seven kills, four digs and one ace; Naomi Kowalick notched nine kills and seven digs; and Samantha Price compiled 26 assists, 11 digs and four aces for the Golden Bears.

Mahanoy Area (13-8) advances to meet No. 2 Pine Grove (11-10), a 3-0 winner over Pen Argyl in the first semifinal. Championship match time is 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Martz Hall.