Marian volleyball is a program built on tradition. And for as long as most can remember, that heritage has included unprecedented success, highlighted by appearances in the last two PIAA Class A championship matches.

But 2015 presented new challenges for the Fillies after a number of key players, such as Abby O'Donnell, Emily Pilla and Lauren Nietz, were lost to graduation.While the new season has presented ups-and-downs, Marian seems to be rounding into form at just the right time after Monday night's 25-12, 25-15, 25-13 sweep of rival Panther Valley to take sole possession of first place in the Schuylkill League Division II standings."I think they (Panther Valley) came in thinking that we were a weaker team than we were last year because we lost all of our seniors," said senior Abigail Stankiewitch, who finished with a team-high 11 kills and four blocks. "But our tradition at Marian is always the same - we always come out and want to destroy every team as a unit; always together."A team shouldn't take us for granted because we're not going to take them for granted."Monday night's contest was one between the top two teams in the SL Division II standings, as both the Lady Panthers and Fillies entered with perfect 3-0 marks.Marian (4-2, 4-0) proved it was up to the challenge from the outset.After taking the first game, the Fillies kept the momentum going.Danielle Spillman was at the service line, going on a 7-0 run to take what proved to be a commanding 9-1 lead, a surge the Lady Panthers (5-1, 3-1) never recovered from in game two."They're tough," said Panther Valley head coach Nancy Filer. "They're in the No. 1 spot and they're playing like it."Marian head coach John Fallabel kept his lineup from this past weekend's Parkland Invitational Tournament intact, and that strategy paid dividends as the Fillies seemed to gel on the court."With the new lineup, I ran that all weekend to see how it would go because it gives me better service (opportunities) and it showed tonight," said Fallabel. "And we had really good attacking tonight. Our middles both ran really well - we had 17 kills out of the middle and 14 kills out of the outside. You can't ask for much more than that. It was a very well-rounded performance."Following appearances in tournaments at Parkland and at the Garden Spot Invitational and non-league matches against Bethlehem Catholic and Holy Redeemer, Fallabel is hoping the experience of playing against some of the best teams in the state will benefit the Fillies moving forward."It's been hard work," the coach said. "They've taken an emotional beating over the last two weeks facing the teams they've faced and they've come through with flying colors."They've bought in to what we're trying to do, and what we're trying to do is get better for the end of the season. Hopefully we can continue to play well in the league."Jamey Mikovich led Panther Valley with eight kills and eight digs, while Christy Dacey paced the team with nine assists.MOVING UP ... Stankiewitch was honored during the game for becoming the ninth player in Marian history to accumulate over 600 kills in her career. Stankiewitch currently has 677 kills.BUT THAT'S NOT ALL ... In addition to Stankiewitch, Courtney McCall also had a stellar game, finishing with 31 assists and eight digs. Gianna Agosti led the Fillies with 16 digs, while Jasmine Mooney added nine and Maureen Kloap posted seven. Spillman paced the team with three aces.WINNING ... Panther Valley defeated Marian in the JV game, 25-10, 25-19.