CRANBERRY TWP — It was the last time the seniors on the North Catholic volleyball team would put up the nets in their gym.

The last time they'd have a full practice.

The last time they'd laugh and joke and enjoy themselves under their home lights.

And the Trojanettes were OK with that Thursday afternoon.

“It's definitely sad, but happy at the same time,” said senior outside hitter Anna Schoeppner, a Seven Fields native. “We've been playing together for eight years. We've been playing since grade school.”

North Catholic (23-1) has one more match — and it's a big one.

The Trojanettes will take on undefeated North Penn-Liberty (23-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday for the PIAA 2A title at Cumberland Valley High School.

“If we can come home with a state title,” Schoeppner said, “that would be a great way to end our careers.”

To do that, North Catholic will have to beat another exceptional team.

The Trojanettes have already run the gauntlet in the state playoffs after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to rival Freeport in the WPIAL 2A title match — after leading 2-0.

North Catholic knocked off Corry, ousted defending state champion and undefeated Bald Eagle and then dispatched the undefeated Yellowjackets to get to the final.

“We also know (North Penn-Liberty) is a really good team,” said North Catholic coach Amanda Fetter. “You don't get here without being a good team. We have to batten down the hatches and get through one more.”

The Mounties have won four consecutive District 4 championships.

They've done it this year predominantly with defense.

North Penn-Liberty's tallest player is 5-foot-9.

“They are a small team,” said senior outside hitter Ava Whitesel, a Cranberry Township native. “That doesn't mean they can't hit. They pass very well. They're pretty scrappy.”

The Mounties also have some stars.

Senior Maddison Minyo has 325 kills and 317 digs this season. Junior Charisma Grega is also in the 300-300 club with 303 kills and 314 digs.

Junior libero Ali Koval has put up a gaudy 443 digs and senior setter JoAnne McNamara had 463 assists.

“Sometimes it's harder to play against a scrappy team because it's not in system,” Schoeppner said.

To counter that, North Catholic worked on being scrappy in practice Thursday.

A lot of serve and pass. A lot of diving on the gym floor.

Ultimately, though, the Trojanettes are focused on being, well, the Trojanettes.

“I'd put my top three hitters up against anyone,” Fetter said.

North Catholic's top hitter, Dominique Felix, is averaging a staggering 21 kills per match.

The Trojanettes definitely have some firepower.

Also a lot of determination.

After the WPIAL final loss to Freeport, the team gathered the next day and examined what went wrong.

They also vowed to not lose again.

“We were really eager to get back into the gym,” Schoeppner said. “I do think it was somewhat a good thing to lose that in a strange way. We had to learn how to lose and learn from our mistakes. We made changes and they've worked.”

The biggest change was simply having fun again.

“That was a big mindset for us,” Schoeppner said. “When we played Freeport we weren't having fun. We weren't clicking.”

The fun will begin Friday.

After a short morning practice the team will climb onto a bus and travel to Hershey for a day of fun before preparing for the state title match 30 miles away at Cumberland Valley.

“We're going to spend the day together as a team,” Whitesel said. “We want to enjoy every moment we can together. It's hard because it's going to be our last game no matter what happens.”

Fetter is also aware of that fact.

“I'm going to cry no matter the outcome,” Fetter said. “Genuinely this is a close-nit group from top to bottom. One of our goals was to be together as long as we possibly could and they did that.”