MINERSVILLE – Marian’s volleyball team needed a good pep talk.

Their swagger had faded, their focus wasn’t sharp, and they had their mojo.

So who could the Fillies turn to for a good jolt? How about Mr. Marian himself — Stan Dakosty. Yes, the retired Hall of Fame football coach and former athletic director.

Maria Currie, Marian’s head coach, said it was just what her team needed.

“I called Coach Dakosty and asked if he could address the team,” Currie said. “I had him come in and give us a pep talk.”

It was just what the team needed.

There was a new bounce in the team’s step, and a look of determination on Thursday night. And with that, the Fillies swept Salem Christian – 25-7, 25-17, 25-17 — in the semifinal round of the District 11 Class 1A tournament.

It was a much better performance that their last outing, when they were swept by Blue Mountain in the Schuylkill League playoffs.

“Yeah, I feel that we worked on a lot of our errors,” Alena Lombardo, the fierce striker in the middle who clubbed seven kills, said. “We had too many errors (against Blue Mountain), so we worked on that.”

Lombardo, Kali Grochowski and unsung outside hitter Lara Cancio all felt that Marian needed to set the tempo early, and not let the Eagles gather any type of confidence.

In one fell swoop, Marian stormed to a commanding 20-4 lead to open play. Grochowski set the tone with three quick kills, and Lombardo added one. And with Cancio elevating and soaring high with each slam, Marian was not about to be denied.

“I felt pretty confident, we (really) have been working hard,” Cancio said about the layoff since the league tournament. “Our defense was a key.”

For sure, there was plenty of balance for the Fillies.

Outside of the trio mentioned above, Isabella Horvat also contributed and JoElle Currie was productive, as was Eris Hayes and Maddy Davis.

“We had a lot of contributions,” Currie said.

In the second set, Marian broke away from a 14-9 score with a 5-0 run. In that stretch, with Cancio on the service line, Lombardo smoked a kill to begin things. Grochowski registered a pair of back-to-back kills during the rally, while Cancio finished off the set with another kill.

“Our work in practice is the key,” Grochowski said. “We were a lot more (intense), and we just need to work that way in order to get better.”

Work was something Grochowski was doing in her new serve, which featured a lot of top spin.

“We have to give each other the thumbs up,” Currie said with Grochowski in serve telling her to try the delivery.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on that aspect, and it will get better,” she said with a big, wide smile.

Now it’s on to Wednesday’s matchup against Tri-Valley at Martz Hall for the district title and a berth in the state playoffs.

“I’m really excited to play for a championship … it’s an honor to get there. How many teams are playing for (a championship)?” Lombardo said.

QUOTEABLE … “We had to change our lineup a little bit but that shows we have all the pieces … we’ve just got to go in different slots,” said Currie in regards to the versatility of the team, with one player out with illness.

NOT ALWAYS ABOUT THE SLAM … Getting a slam for a kill is cool, but sometimes a soft kill works just as effective. The Fillies have a few hitters who utilize both.

Marian 3, Salem Christian 0

Salem Christian 7 17 17

Marian 25 25 25

Stat Leaders: Marian - Kali Grochowski 11 kills, 4 aces, 4 digs; Alena Lombardo 7 kills, 3 digs; JoElle Currie 22 assists, 5 digs; Eris Hayes 4 kills, 9 aces, 11 digs; Lara Cancio 9 kills, 4 aces, 2 digs.

Records: Salem Christian (11-11); Marian (16-6).