the southern

MARION - After enduring a tough test in the first set, Marion rolled in the second to sweep Herrin, 26-24 and 25-15, en route to the Wildcats winning their own Marion Invitational volleyball tournament.

Marion (25-3) won all four of its matches on Saturday, bringing the tournament trophy back to Virgil "Cuss" Gymnasium after Herrin won the title in 2007.

"In the first game, we just couldn't get our offense going," Marion coach Kent Carrell said. "They were doing a great job of bringing their attack at us and we couldn't get our passes up so our hitters can do their job."

Trailing 9-3 early, Herrin (14-14) went on an 8-1 run and took its first lead of the game on a stuff block by Haley Elders. The teams traded points from there until Marion's Lindsey Lenon slammed down one of her 22 kills to knot the score at 24.

The Wildcats sealed the victory by recording the next two points. However, a couple of controversial calls in Marion's favor could have made a big difference for Herrin.

"I only say this about once every three years, but we had five calls that we should have gotten in Game 1," Herrin coach Karen Jurich said. "Now you're going in this being tired, playing Game 2 for the championship and I think we would have won.

"It's not very often that I say that, but it's the truth."

One of the disputes was over an out-of-bounds ruling that allowed Marion to tie the set at 13. The call was part of a 3-0 run by the Wildcats.

"I thought we outplayed Marion in Game 1," Jurich said.

Marion made sure there was no doubt in the second set. Jumping out to a 7-3 lead, the Wildcats once again saw the Tigers climb back in it and tie the score at nine. But two Herrin digs went out of bounds to give Marion an 11-9 advantage.

"In the second game, our passers picked it up a little bit," Carrell said. "We were able to hit what we wanted to hit, which kept them off-balance, and tip when we needed to.

"Our blockers also stepped it up a little bit and all those things combined to make a difference."

A kill by Kaily Stoecklin, one of a team-high 28, sparked a 10-0 run by the Wildcats that ended when a serve by Hannah Baker hit the net.

The closest the Tigers would get the rest of the way was seven and an Ashley Buffington kill ended Herrin's comeback hopes.

Marion put three players on the all-tournament team - Stoecklin, Whitney Steele and Jasmine Garnett. Steele contributed 61 assists for the Wildcats, while the 6-foot-2 Garnett added 17 kills and 17 blocks.

"We just had to prepare mentally and communicate as a team," Garnett said. "We're very determined and (the all-tournament team selection) feels pretty good."

Herrin's Jordan Rothschild and Danielle Boren also earned all-tournament nods, as did Harrisburg's Victoria Beasley and Dani Price. Du Quoin's Kelsey Toler was selected as well.

Marion still had one game left to play after beating the Tigers. The Wildcats made short work of NCOE, beating the Cardinals 25-13 and 25-13.

"I was really pleased with the girls," Carrell said. "They played well and rose to the occasion in the Herrin match and we kept doing what we're good at against the other teams.

"When our offense clicks, we've got a lot of weapons for them to watch out for."

pete.spitler@thesouthern.com / 351-5073