POTTSVILLE - On a team as deep and talented as Marian, it's not easy to stand out.

But Thursday night in the Schuylkill League volleyball finals, the Fillies' Emily Pilla did just that.Pilla's combination of hard serves, powerful kills and perfect passes led Marian to a 25-16, 25-11, 25-15 sweep of Nativity and a successful defense of its league title.On a Fillies' team that uses a double-digit rotation of players and sends hitters and servers at the opposition in waves, Pilla's standout performance was noteworthy.But according to Marian coach John "Doc" Fallabel it wasn't unusual."Emily is the best all-around player in the Schuylkill League," said Fallabel. "We're deep and we're talented, but Emily always seems to find a way to make her presence felt."She's played well the entire season. But in big games, she's at her best. She plays big in the biggest games."Last night, Pilla led the Fillies in service points (14 points), aces (four), kills (10), and hitting percentage (.454). She also was just two off the team lead in digs (seven).But despite her huge individual numbers, Pilla deflected the praise to her team."My serves, my kills, my passes … none of those things would be possible without my teammates," she said. "I have great players all around me that make my job easy."This team has so much talent and so much chemistry, it's just a lot of fun to go out and play with them night after night."It might be fun for the Fillies, but not for the opposition."Marian is just so tough to play," said Nativity coach Jennifer Daubert. "They come at you from the opening point and seem to have you scrambling the entire match. There is no margin for error when you're playing them because every time you make a mistake they make you pay."There is a reason why they have won 34 straight matches and are the defending state champion and you saw that tonight."The Fillies flexed their muscles early, jumping out to a 5-1 lead in the opening game behind a Pilla service run. Aces by Lauren Nietz, Abby O'Donnell, Maureen Kloap and Kaylee Ceci helped Marian stretch its advantage to double digits before Abby Stankiewitch's kill closed out the opening game. Pilla had five kills in the game."Our girls have been extremely focused this entire season," said Fallabel about a Fillies squad that hasn't dropped a game this season let alone a match. "We got off to a good start tonight and then kept building on that. "Marian breezed to a 25-11 win in game two as Neitz put together an early four-point service run and Kloap added a seven-point run late. Pilla once again was a terror at the net with four kills and a block.The final game was decided early as a six-point service run by Pilla help Marian open a 7-0 lead. Nativity hung around and trailed just 19-15, but the Marian scored the final six points, five on serves from Alex Stroia, to close out the victory."We're fun to watch," said Fallabel. "But it didn't happen overnight. These girls worked hard to get to this point."A lot of them have been playing together in our system since they were in fifth grade. That type of familiarity and experience is so important on the court."In addition to Pilla's big game, the Fillies also got strong matches from O'Donnell (22 assists, five digs); Stankiewitch (five kills, three blocks); Kloap (four kills, nine digs); Nietz (eight digs); and Cassandra Hoben (two kills, two blocks).Marian, now 20-0, will have a bye in the opening round of the District 11 Class A tournament and will be off until the semifinal round on Oct.. 28"I'm proud of how we have come ready to play each match," said Fallabel. "We've played 20 matches and a couple of tournaments and our girls have been prepared to play each and every night."They just take it one point at a time, one game at a time, one match at a time and really enjoy themselves out on the court. I don't know if they know how good they are."