The Lady Wildcats opened the second game inspired and immediately took the lead. It reached 13-4, and after EHS battled back to within 13-10, Marion stretched it back to 20-11 and then 22-13 before the Lady Hearts put together their late rally.

“Actually I didn’t think there was much momentum either way in the first game,” Bohnhoff said. “Neither team looked like they were fired up and ready to play. But Marion came out fired up in the second game and we looked sluggish. But we were able to come back and get it done, which says a lot about our team.”

The first set was close throughout. EHS trailed only one time, 13-12. But the Lady Hearts got a kill from Urch and a service ace from Jacy Boatman to take a lead they never relinquished. They also got big shots from Chrappa, Callie Feldhake, Sowell and Urch down the stretch that secured a 25-20 win.

“This was a typical match for us,” Bohnhoff noted. “Sometimes we look real impressive, but other times our youth shows. We don’t hit the ball well, put a couple shots in the net and don’t communicate at times.

“Sometimes we don’t play with a lot of intensity and lack a little confidence,” Bohnhoff added. “Then we remember that we’re pretty good, and sometimes that’s all it takes.”

For the Lady Hearts, Eliza Montgomery had 1 kill, 2 digs, 1 block; Taylor O’Dell 11 assists, 1 dig; Hayley Dively 11 assists, 1 ace, 6 digs; Alexa Chrappa 10 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 9 digs, 1 block; Kennedy Sowell 4 kills, 1 dig, 1 block; Sam Urch 5 kills, 3 digs, 3 blocks; Jacy Boatman 4 kills, 2 aces, 4 digs, 1 block; Callie Feldhake 2 kills, 1 ace, 1 dig; Morgan Hagler 1 dig; and Olivia Martin 1 assist and 10 digs.

Effingham improved to 18-17 on the season and will now face top-seeded Charleston for the regional championship. The final match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday.

“Charleston beat us twice this season, but I feel we can play with them,” Bohnhoff said. “Both matches were very competitive. We will have to play well to beat them and we can’t have any letdowns.”