MINERSVILLE - The reign is over!

Marian's domination of the Schuylkill Girls Volleyball League took a hit at Thomas Fitzpatrick Gymnasium on Tuesday evening as the Fillies bid for a fourth straight league title ended in the semifinals.Playing against undefeated and highly-touted Blue Mountain, the Fillies couldn't overcome the pressure of the moment and some of their own inflicted wounds as they bowed in five sets Tuesday evening.After sauntering past the Eagles in the opening set in a raging frenzy 25-11, the tables suddenly turned and Marian looked puzzled, unsure and seemingly without their normal, confident swagger."It wasn't our best performance," said Marian coach Dr. John Fallabel. "I knew coming in whoever served better was going to win the match… that was going to be the key."In addition to Blue Mountain (19-0) holding a serving edge, Marian couldn't defend the middle of the floor, forcing Fallabel to move his all-state outside hitter player Jasmine Mooney to the middle. That move solidified the Fillies defense, but it took away some of Mooney's ability to score points, even though she piled on 29 kills."Jasmine had a good night, but she can't be the only answer," said Fallabel. "But give props to Blue Mountain. They came to play. They just wanted it more.The first set win seemed so Marian-like, so assured. But the Eagles regrouped and in the words of their coach Nick Marrongello, "we decided to let it play out."The Eagles calmed down and started to build confidence as they would reel in the next two sets 25-20 and 25-16. Although Marian stopped the run with a fourth set 25-14 win, the momentum didn't have a Marian feel."We were able to take away their middle attack and we did it with good blocks," said Marrongello. "Mooney got her kills, but our goal was to limit that damage as much as we could."Certainly 18 blocks were the swing in favor of Blue Mountain. Marrongello praised Christie Challenger, who came off the bench for eight of those blocks.In the crucial fifth set, Marian (15-2) picked up a point when the Eagles were called for a carry. Unfazed, Blue Mountain went in front using a return error by the Fillies and ace off a Jerienne Abercrombie serve. The Eagles expanded the lead to 10-5 on two kills from Maddie Gordon.Before the Fillies could reshuffle, Blue Mountain secured the victory on an ace from Ashley Snesavage.STREAK STOPPED ... A run of 60 wins against league foes came to an end for the Fillies. Before that, Marian's last loss also came in the league semifinals to Pottsville.GREAT EFFORTS ... Gordon also came up big for the winners with five blocks. Abercrombie got big points at crucial times in the game despite playing on a gimpy ankle.UP NEXT ... The Fillies are off until next week, when they open defense of their District 11 Class A title.