Heading into the two teams’ OVAC 5A semifinals matchup inside the John Marshall Fieldhouse, the Monarchs and Hawks had met two times previously– both tightly contested, 3-2 John Marshall wins.

It was the same on Tuesday, with John Marshall taking the first two sets of the match before University battled back but couldn’t complete the comeback in a five-set victory for the Monarchs, 25-19, 25-15, 27-29, 18-25, 15-9.

“We’ve played five sets with them all three games,” John Marshall head coach Chelsea Eikleberry said. “We’ve come out as winners on all three of those, but they are hard-fought battles. I mean, give it to University. They’re a good team. That Libero, [Lucy Johnson] I’m pretty sure she could play every spot on the court. She gets just about anything.

“So definitely compliments to them. They are a great team, but our girls, they came together as a team. That was a team win. It’s been a team win every time we’ve played them.”

For the Monarchs, Addison Blake tallied 14 kills, followed by Sarah Naome with 12 and Nia Miller with nine. Sarah H tallied all 25 of her team’s assists, and Masyn Inclan led the Monarchs’ defensive efforts with 15 digs.

John Marshall burst out to a 7-1 lead in the first set of the game, and maintained an advantage throughout. Two straight service aces by University’s Maggie Panson highlighted a five-point scoring streak for the Hawks which brought them within three, 20-17, but a kill from the Monarchs’ Isla Urbanek put the brakes on University’s momentum. A block by Sarah Naome sealed the set for John Marshall.

John Marshall led wire-to-wire in the second set as well, a thunderous kill from Paislee Babiczuk ended the set and put the Monarchs in the driver’s seat.

The third set was neck-and-neck from start to extended finish. The two teams tied 5-5, 7-7, 12-12, 14-14, 16-16, 18-18, 21-21, and 24-24, ensuring that the set would go into overtime. Urbanek and Lucy Johnson traded kills to tie 25-25. An attempted Monarch kill out of bounds put University ahead 26-25, but a kill from Naome tied things back up. University eventually got the edge after a Panson kill and John Marshall error to stay alive.

University was surging out of the break and built an 8-0 lead which would set them on a straight course to tie the game two sets to two. Panson had six kills in the fourth set alone, and her final strike ended the set 25-18.

The fourth set started out close, the two teams tied 5-5, but John Marshall rang off the next three points to force a University timeout, which did little to stem the Monarchs’ resurgence. They led 11-6, and Addison Blake ended the match for John Marshall with a kill.

After watching University come back from the brink, Eikleberry’s squad was able to buckle down in the fifth set.

“I tell them to focus on one point at a time,” the Monarchs’ coach said. “And once we get that lead, we gotta hold on to it. Every point counts.

“We gotta get excited. We have to have lots of energy. And my girls have a lot of grit. They want to win every night. They show up, they’re working hard, and we’re in a really good spot.

I’m really proud of them.”

John Marshall will face Morgantown in the OVAC 5A championship Saturday. Times and pairings for the five championship matches will be finalized on Wednesday, according to OVAC Volleyball Commissioner Wayne Ogilbee.

“I’m pretty sure, not 100%, but I believe the last time we were there was in 2017,” Eikleberry said. “Which was my last year coaching before I came back this past year, and we won that. We beat Morgantown in 2017 so we’re excited to get back on Saturday, work hard this week in practice and hopefully have a good match.”