Girls volleyball: Marian Central turns back big Carmel challenge

Boasting a 37-1 record gets you noticed. So does bolting early from a sectional match when at least one set remains.

So when Marian Central's volleyball team packed up and left Woodstock's gym following Carmel Catholic's opening-set win over St. Viator in Tuesday's second Class 3A sectional semifinal, the Corsairs took notice. Top-seeded Marian Central had dispatched Resurrection in the first semifinal.

"That gave our girls a little bit of motivation to come out with some fire (in the sectional final)," Carmel coach David Pazely said.

Carmel's inspired play Thursday night nearly resulted in the No. 2 Corsairs taking the first set against the mighty Hurricanes, but the defending Class 3A state champs prevailed 25-23, 25-19. Marian Central (38-1) advances to its own supersectional and will play Rosary at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Carmel finished 27-12.

"They really brought it," Marian Central setter McKayla Wuensch said of the Corsairs. "They have improved so much this season. ... They made us fight. We had to work for it."

Marian Central meant no offense with its early departure from Carmel's two-set win over St. Viator. Marian Central beat Carmel 25-18, 25-19 in mid-September in East Suburban Catholic Conference action.

"So we also had film on them," said Wuensch, adding she and her teammates had homework and sleep to catch up on, too.

"The way they played some teams this year, that was a respectable score line," Pazely said of his Corsairs' first match against the Hurricanes.

Since Carmel last played Marian Central, the Corsairs had tweaked their lineup. Freshman Eileen Tarcha moved from libero to outside hitter, Madi Meyer went from playing just defensive specialist to handling libero duties, and Mia DiBartolo switched from right back to middle back. Jolina Moisio took over at right back.

"We played better tonight," Carmel senior middle Lauren Nelson said.

Meyer's ace had Carmel up 3-0 in the first set, and the Corsairs enjoyed a 21-18 lead after Tarcha (3 kills) finished an attack. DiBartolo's stellar one-handed dig from the back row kept the play alive. Carmel's 22-21 advantage disappeared as Marian Central's Sydney Nemtuda hammered a pair of kills before ending the set with a well-placed shot that dropped softly.

Opportunity lost for Carmel.

"If you can get one, then you can make them nervous," Pazely said, "because they're usually not in that position."

"It was pretty important to win (the first set) because it would have really hyped up our energy for the second game," said Nelson, who had 3 kills and 4 blocks. "I feel like some of us just got down and felt, 'Oh, it's over.' But it wasn't."

Brenna Koch's ace gave Marian Central a 4-1 lead in the second set, and the Hurricanes never trailed. Nemtuda, who's committed to Florida Atlantic University, finished with 10 kills and 11 digs. Wuensch (University of Nevada, Reno commit), dished out 29 assists. Marian Central also got 7 kills from Lauren Hanlon and six from Koch.

Alyssa Dellert and Erin Taylor each had 5 kills for Carmel. Grace Butler, who will sign with Central Michigan next week, had 16 assists, while Meyer chalked 11 digs.