Photo by Travis Pratt Catoctin's Elise Manning turns to her team and celebrates after sending a shot by Patterson Mill's Haley Jarczynski, putting Catoctin to the state final.

The Cougars backs were shoved to the wall once again in Thursday's 1A state semifinal at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum, yet they somehow found a way to pull out a 13-25, 27-25, 26-24, 25-22 victory over stunned 1A East champion Patterson Mill.

To say few gave Catoctin (7-11) a chance to reach the state final would be a drastic understatement. Even coach Dana Brashear and her players seemed pretty stunned after their latest triumph.

The Cougars had just snapped an eight-match losing streak just prior to the start of the playoffs. They were the No. 8 seed in the 1A North.

And now they will play unbeaten Smithsburg for a state title at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Ritchie Coliseum.

"It's kind of surreal," Brashear said. "We're really doing this. This is for real."

No one really believed it until the final point was won against Patterson Mill.

The Huskies had only lost one match and were the heavy favorite coming into the semifinals. They had only dropped two games in their region tournament.

And if a few points had gone the other way, they'd be playing for a state title.

They ripped off 12 straight points to take the first game and then held multiple game points in the second and third games. They led 24-22 in the second game and 24-21 in the third.

But Patterson Mill ran into the same problem other teams have recently encountered against Catoctin. The Cougars simply won't go away.

"This could have been it," senior Karly Moore said. "We had to gut it out and give it our all and that's what we did."

Sophomore Amy Szabados served Catoctin out of trouble in the late stages of the second and third games. And middle hitters Elise Manning and Lynly Meunier kept the offense on track with timely kills.

Manning finished with a season-high 18 kills to go along with six blocks. Meunier had eight kills and senior captain Devan Dewees added seven to go along with 33 digs.

The Cougars never panicked when they were facing all of those game points because, as Dewees pointed out, "We have been falling into holes all season. It's really not a good thing. We just keep finding ways to dig our way out."

The Cougars never trailed by more than two points in the fourth game. Manning finished it with a kill and the celebration began.

"I think we have a lot of heart," Moore said. "Catoctin volleyball is known for it's heart and its will to win. I think that's what pulled us through."

The Cougars will have to be on top of their game to have a chance against Smithsburg. The Leopards (18-0) only dropped nine points in their semifinal victory.

They beat Catoctin in three games earlier in the year.

"We are the big underdogs," Dewees said. "But people have doubted us all season."