ROYERSFORD - It was a moment that probably felt surreal for the Marian volleyball team.

Trying to take down Sacred Heart Academy - the top-ranked Class 1A team in the state - Marian’s superb freshman middle hitter Alena Lombardo was going toe-to-toe with a much more experienced front line from the Bryn Mawr-based team.

Lombardo had jockeyed her way into position at the net and was swatting away shot after shot taken by Sacred Heart. Lombardo was holding her own against a level of competition that was bigger and stronger than what she was used to playing against.

Two straight blocks by Lombardo resulted in critical points in this second set. The last block tied the score 22-22.

Unfortunately for Lombardo and the Fillies, there wasn’t enough juice left in tank to pull the upset.

The District 1 champs closed the set strong and ultimately swept the Fillies, 25-14, 25-22, 25-16 on Tuesday.

It was the end of the line for the Fillies (16-7), who never backed down from a much more seasoned Sacred Heart team.

“Marian is always at the top of the list (of the best teams in Class 1A),” said Sacred Heart coach Sam Moyerman. “We knew from the get-go that we were in for a battle.

“They’re very well-coached, and know what it takes to win ... but we have a lot of good players.”

Moyerman was wrong - he doesn’t have a lot of good players, he has a lot of outstanding players who were able to end Marian’s season.

“We talked about so much growth this season,” said Marian coach Maria Serina. “We had disappointing losses early in the season. Our goal from the start of October until now was to get better - and we did accomplish that.

“It was challenging at times, but it was also extremely positive and fun.”

The Fillies never could reboot things after Sacred Heart’s late surge to pull out Game 2 behind standout net players Elizabeth Cuskey and Lilly Hornickle.

If it wasn’t the dynamic duo Cuskey and Hornickle getting points, it was the additional firepower generated by Aly Albanese, Natalie Ferdinand, and Emily McKenna that helped Sacred Heart (18-7) control the first and third sets.

“We’ve been doing this all year,” Moyerman explained about his balance in the attack. “We keep saying make sure you make the right play ... make sure you know where to be - just those little things.”

Little things, indeed, take care of the big things.

Marian kept looking for a survival guide to fight off the Lions.

After balling early in Game 3, the Fillies roared back and pulled to within 11-10 with junior Julia Meiss at serve. But the Lions stayed the course, getting a huge block from Cuskey. The Fillies tried to answer and were within 17-15 when Jenna Goff served a winner.

But that was as close as they got.

“I’ll tell you, we had some chances,” Serina said. But we made some mistakes, and they’re a very good team and took advantage of them.”

BEAUTIFUL SETTING ... The match was played at the beautiful campus of St. John Paul II High School.

BY THE NUMBERS … Megan Paisley led Marian in both digs (11) and kills (seven). Also playing well for the Fillies were Abbey Kluck (six kills, eight digs); Goff (three kills, eight digs); Meiss (17 assists). For the Lions, Cuskey had eight kills and two blocks; McKenna had six kills, and Corcoran had 32 assists.

LAST TIME TO SHINE … Three seniors will depart the Marian program - Fatikha Tikhtova, Paisley and Goff.