MINERSVILLE - Marian head coach John Fallabel said that his team lacked intensity after its victory against Tri-Valley on Tuesday. Sometimes it's hard to find the combination of staying loose and bringing tenacity onto the court.

Two days later, the Fillies (22-0) came roaring out of the gate during the first game of the District 11 Class A Championship match against Nativity (18-5). Strong serving helped Marian jump out to a convincing 10-3 lead in the opening moments.Just when it appeared the match would get out of hand, the young Nativity squad clawed back and lost by just three points in the first game, and just five in the second.However, Fallabel's squad kicked it into high gear and opened another 10-3 early advantage in the third game.This time the Fillies took care of business which led to a sweep of the Green Wave, 25-22, 25-20, 25-10. The victory earned them their third straight district championship. This marks the 12th straight season that either Marian or Nativity has won the Class A title."I took them to the championship banners (in the Marian gym) and now they know how strongly I feel about them," said Fallabel. "The girls saw our 2010 banner which was a perfect season, except our one loss which was in the district championship which sent us home. I think they took that to heart and came to play tonight."Between each of Marian's 10-3 opening runs in the first and third games, Nativity never trailed by more than five points. In fact in the second game, the Green Wave was within two points for a majority of the game and even took their only lead of the match during that time. However, top-seeded Marian pulled away late in the third game and led by as much as 15 points."We kept fighting back and I told them to keep chipping away," said Nativity head coach Jennifer Daubert. "We stayed aggressive the whole time. We didn't control our own side in the third game and it snowballed from there."We knew we had to contain everything on our side of the floor and we tried and make them scramble. Marian has so many weapons and options, it's tough. I thought we had intensity and a ton of hustle in the first two games."Daubert's young team got to the championship in thrilling fashion after erasing a 2-0 defecit against Salem Christian on Tuesday. The momentum seemed to transition to the finals match as the Green Wave certainly had a strong showing despite the loss. The entire Nativity team will be returning next season except for Lauren Bolich, who is a senior."We're so young and to accomplish as much as we have this season makes me proud," said the Nativity coach. "You can't physically teach these experiences that these girls have gained. We're going to build off of this experience and come back strong next year.""It was the most fun we had all season," said Fallabel. "They were close, exciting games, and that's what volleyball is all about. We need to serve consistently and not over think everything. I have some hard hitters and I think they tried to hit around the blockers instead of at them."It's no coincidence that the Fillies have won 22-straight matches this season, as they always seem to have one or two girls answer the call when facing adversity. Last night it was Alex Stroia and Lauren Nietz who drew attention with impressive play on the court. Stroia compiled 10 kills and 10 digs as Nietz recorded 17 digs .Fallabel said, "A year ago after the state championship, Alex told me that she wanted to be a star. We have some young talent and you know what they can do, but Alex certainly proved that she is a star and truly deserves to start, especially with a performance like this tonight. I'm extremely proud of her."Nietz explained, "We're going to take it one-by-one, game-by-game. We can't expect too much, but we're hoping for the best, we're preparing to be the best, and we promise to give our best."The fun has just begun for the Fillies who are in the midst of a ton of winning streaks and ongoing accomplishments. Marian is headed to the state tournament and with all of the success comes the pressure of winning. Fallabel just wants the girls to have fun and embrace the moment."I want the girls to enjoy themselves. At the end of the match, it's just a game," he said. "Sometime later in life you could end up being best friends with a girl on the other side of the net."They're such a fun group of girls who sincerely care about one another and that's what makes them special."