WEIRTON – The Madonna volleyball was looking to make quick of its opponent in an OVAC Class 1A Tournament Semifinal, however, Heartland Christian displayed the heart of the lion as the girls from Columbiana County battled back and improbably found themselves a mere three points from victory.

The Blue Dons, however, displayed the heart of a champion, as the girls from Hancock County collected the final three points of the match – the last of which came on a block by Lacy Quering – enabling No. 2 seed Madonna to survive a scare from third-seeded Heartland Christian, 25-16, 25-17, 23-25, 16-25, 15-12, in a five-game thriller Wednesday night on Joanna Bernabei-McNamee Court inside the Bill Barrett Gymnasium.

With the win, Madonna will take on No. 1 seed and defending champion Conotton Valley in the tournament final at 1 p.m. Saturday down at the ECO Center in St. Clairsville. Conotton Valley advanced to the tournament final by sweeping No. 4 seed Wood County Christian in the other semifinal Wednesday night at home.

The Blue Dons did not qualify for the annual conference tournament last season as the Rockets swept the Lions to win the title.

It is a different story this season as Madonna improved to 19-8-1 after the victory against Heartland Christian. The loss dropped the Lions down to 12-9 on the year.

Individually for Madonna, Sophie Brady delivered five kills, 42 assists and nine digs, Rylee Birkhimer recorded 18 kills, two assists and 22 digs and Geena Birkhimer contributed 13 kills, four digs and one solo block. Also, Quering ended up with five kills, two digs and one solo block, Madi Owens added 12 kills and 28 digs and Breea Birkhimer collected two kills and 26 assists. Finally, Abigail Boyd chipped in with three kills and one dig, and Danyka DeCaria produced 18 digs.

Serving played a key role in the victory for Madonna as the Blue Dons finished the night with 15 aces. Rylee Birkhimer led the way in that category for her team with six, Owens ended up with five and Geena Birkhimer recorded three. Also, Danyka DeCaria delivered two aces.

The match was originally scheduled to start at 5:30 before it was moved back to 6 p.m. Once started, the match took nearly two hours to complete.