DANVILLE - The night was long, the trip was longer.

Mount Pulaski on Thursday traveled to Danville Schlarman for the Class A volleyball sectionals. The Lady 'Toppers came in with high expectations and came out with a sectional title.

MP downed Kansas Tri-County 23-25, 25-20, 25-13 in the semifinals, then moved on to tame the Lions of Decatur 24-26, 25-16, 25-19.

The Lady 'Toppers will host Jacksonville Routt in the supersectionals at 6 p.m. Monday.

In the first match Thursday, MP (24-14) was a bit on the skittish side.

"We always come in anxious," senior Christina Stoll said. "We had to get out the first-game jitters."

Kansas (26-10) jumped out to an early lead and held it up to the last point of the first game. Junior Michael Ely served three late points in a row to make it 23-24, but one last mistake by Mount Pulaski put an end to the first game.

The Lady 'Toppers reversed course in Game 2. The second game ended 25-20, an MP victory. In the third and final game of the match Mount Pulaski took the reins.

Michael Ely's thought: "Everybody's just doing whatever it takes to win."

By the 25-13 victory Christina Stoll had racked up 11 kills, Kaitlyn Kutz had eight, and Kassi Schmidt had six.

It was a testament to the consistency MP coach Donna Dulle has stressed this season.

The match game of the night seemed to be between two nearly identical teams. In fact, it took Decatur Lutheran (30-3) an extra point to fend off the Lady Toppers in Game 1, 26-24.

Unfortunately for the Lions, Mount Pulaski wasn't ready to go home.

"The intensity picked up, and when that happens we just feed off each other," said Stoll.

In the first game, the Lady 'Toppers had a rough time containing Lutheran freshman Morganne Criswell, but by the end of the night they had cracked the code.

The second game seemed to bring out a different side of Mount Pulaski, a side that the Lions wouldn't like. The Lady 'Toppers surged to a 25-16 victory, which gave MP momentum for Game 3.

It cruised to a 25-19 victory to put away the Lady Lions and collect the sectional title.

Schmidt had 14 kills and five blocks in the two matches. Stoll had 12 kills and four blocks; Ely had seven kills; Ely had seven kills and 11 digs and Jerri Kaye Turner collected 33 assists.

A win Monday would put MP in the state tournament in Bloomington.

The team's most recent state championship came in 1989.

The Lady 'Toppers finished second in the state from 2002-04.

"We have big shoes to fill," said Ely.