At most schools - and in most sports - winning a district championship and making a long run in the state tournament is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.

But for the Marian volleyball program, that type of success is more like the normal expectation than the ultimate dream.

So going back-to-back campaigns without winning a district title and qualifying for the state playoffs isn’t a little dryspell for the Fillies.

It’s a Sahara Desert-like drought.

That’s the situation the Marian program found itself facing this season.

After winning a District 11 Class 1A title and advancing to the PIAA State Championship game in 2017, Marian had come up empty the last two seasons. To make matters worse, not only weren’t the Fillies one of the premier small school volleyball programs in the state during that span, they were barely a .500 team.

That didn’t sit well with the Marian seniors, who got to experience the Fillies’ tradition and success as freshman members of the program back in 2017. It’s also a group that saw daily reminders of Marian’s storied volleyball history every time they entered the gym.

The four seniors - Alivia Karchner, Tatianna Zeleniak, Jamison Wheeler and Rebecaa Dzuranin - were determined to make sure they erased the memories of the last two seasons.

“We look at that every day,” Karchner said pointing to the wall in Marian’s Jack Malarkey Gymnasium. “The championship banners hanging there signify what other teams and what other classes had accomplished, and were a constant reminder of what we wanted to accomplish this year.”

But it wasn’t enough to have the Fillies’ past successes staring down on them when they entered their home gym.

They wanted their goal - or more accurately their expectation - with them wherever and whenever they played.

So this season, the Fillies have gone through their pre-match warm-ups wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words “On a mission to protect the tradition.”

“We thought it was the perfect motto for this season,” said Wheeler. “The Marian volleyball program has been so good for so long that you expect to be playing for championships when you’re on the team.

“The last couple of seasons were disappointing, and we knew this was our last chance to turn it around. We really dedicated ourselves to getting the Marian volleyball program back to the top - that’s where it was when we arrived as freshmen, and that’s where we wanted to leave it as seniors.”

During the past two weeks, the Fillies have fulfilled that expectation.

First, by beating rival Nativity in a five-set thriller for the District 11 1A championship, and then winning a pair of matches in the state playoffs to earn the right to play for a PIAA championship.

“This is such an awesome feeling,” said Zeleniak following Marian’s state semifinal round victory over Sacred Heart Academy on Tuesday night. “Marian volleyball has such a great tradition, and it feels incredible to do our part to add to that.

“I remember watching back in 2013 when Marian won its last state championship and thinking ‘when I get to high school, I want to be part of a team that does that too,’ and now I have that opportunity in my senior year. I couldn’t be happier, or be more proud of my teammates.”

This year’s district championship was Marian’s 15th since 1999, and 11th in 18 years under coach John “Doc” Fallabel. This will be the Fillies’ seventh state championship game appearance during that span, having won it all in 2003 and 2013.

“I’m so proud of this team, and especially my seniors,” said Fallabel. “They took a beating over the last two years. They had a record of 20-20, but instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they worked harder, they improved, and now they are going to get to play for a state championship.”

Marian’s opponent on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Cumberland Valley High School will be District 9 champion Clarion. The Bobcats are 23-0 this season, and have blitzed their first two opponents in the state tournament in lopsided 3-0 matches.

“They are the real deal,” said Fallabel. “They have three or four girls that are four-year starters, so they have been building for this season for quite awhile. I don’t know if they have even lost a game in any match this season. That’s how good they are.”

Fallabel said the Fillies will have to play their best match of the year to beat Clarion.

Dzuranin is looking forward to that challenge.

“We’ve accomplished so much this season,” she said. “It’s been amazing ... beating Nativity to win districts, then winning two state playoff games, we have had so many incredible experiences.

“Now, there’s only one thing left to do to make this even better and that’s win a state championship, and we’ll get that chance on Saturday.”

Win or lose that match, however, one thing is for sure. The Fillies’ “mission to restore the tradition,” has already been accomplished.