Marietta’s Arianna Buckley (20) spikes the ball during Saturday’s district final volleyball match against Fairfield Union at Southeastern High School in Chillicothe, Ohio. Marietta won in three sets. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — For only the second time overall, and the first time in 48 years, the Marietta volleyball team is headed to the Sweet 16.

And what’s even more impressive, the Tigers won their Division II district title with a sweep after defeating Fairfield Union 26-24, 25-20, 25-23.

Next for the Tigers (24-2) is a meeting with River View in the regional semifinals scheduled for a 6 p.m. start Thursday at Heath High School.

“There has been a lot of hard work involved,” said Marietta coach Ron Kidder, who guided the Tigers to a district semifinal appearance last season. “The girls had to put the time in, and they did. They are talented. The girls didn’t play great tonight, but they played well.

“The goal was to get farther than last year, and they did.”

Marietta's Taylor Karcher, left, celebrates with teammates during the Tigers' district final match against Fairfield Union Saturday at Southeastern High School. (Photo by Kerry Patrick) (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Fairfield Union’s front line resembled a forest with all of its height. Several of the girls could pound the ball at the net, but none better than 6-foot junior Christian Thompson, who possessed an enormous exit velocity when she was on.

“It is scary when they come at you like bullets, but you just have to put yourself on the line for it,” Marietta back row specialist Corley Lather said.

Marietta’s game plan was to minimize Thompson’s opportunities in addition to the rest of her teammates. And the Tigers were up to the task.

“We knew we couldn’t shut them down completely, but our goal was to keep their hits at a minimum,” Marietta hitter Arianna Buckley said.

According to Fairfield Union coach Holly Culver, her girls from the outset weren’t completely ready from a mental point of view.

And it showed. In game one, Marietta built an 18-13 lead before the Falcons rallied to within 18-17 on a pair of Thompson service aces as well as one of her kills from the back row.

The Falcons eventually had game point in their back pocket at 24-23 after a Marietta spike landed long beyond the baseline. The Tigers saved one game point then tacked on a second straight point when Buckley’s kill found its way through a double block.

Marietta setter Taylor Karcher went right back to work on the very next point and gave teammate Anna Ritter the ideal pass for the kill and game point.

The two teams jockeyed back and forth in game two and remained deadlocked at 17-17 on yet another Thompson kill.

“Thompson is going to get hers – no one is going to shut her down,” Kidder said. “There is a difference getting 18 kills in a match and getting 28 kills. If she gets 28, it means she spent a lot of time in the front row.

“Fundamentally, we did our job.”

Marietta forced side out then reeled off five additional points on the strength of two kills from Emma Middleton.

The Falcons saved one game point and closed to within 24-20 before Marietta closed the door and moved to within one game of a district title.

Fairfield Union had the momentum for the majority of game three and led 19-14 on an ace serve from Alyssa Tipton.

Following a Marietta timeout, the Tigers responded with a lengthy run of their own – starting with a tip at the net from Ritter which ignited a 6-0 swing and out them in front 20-19.

The Falcons tied the game on four occasions, but yet another tip from Ritter off an assist from Karcher produced match point at 24-23. An ace serve clinched the win and ended Fairfield Union’s season at 20-5.

“We just weren’t here mentally – all of us – today,” Culver said. “It wasn’t one person or two people. It was the whole team not moving together well enough.

Contact Kerry Patrick atkpatrick@newsandsentinel.com