That celebration did happen …. eventually.

Madonna, in the driver seat from having won both its tournament matches so far and trying to earn its first trip to the state tournament in program history, was ahead of Magnolia 22-19 in the fourth set of the Class A Region 1 championship, leading the match 2-1.

Those last three points for a trip to Charleston proved to be elusive, and Magnolia was not going to go away easy, storming back with six of the next seven points to force a fifth set, then pulling away to win the decisive set and force a winner-take-all second match.

The Blue Dons, though, were not going to be denied that trip.

CELEBRATION — Madonna’s Lacy Quering and Abigail Boyd hug as teammates celebrate after the final point Wednesday. - Andrew Grimm

After falling behind early in the first set of the second match, the Dons recaptured the momentum they had earlier in the night and fought back to sweep the nightcap and earn their spot in next week’s state tourney.

“The message in between games was just to cut back on making the little mental errors and continuing to playing our game,” Madonna head coach Jae Hissam, who went to the state tournament as a player at Oak Glen, said. “I think at the end of the first game we started to play a little timid and were looking for someone else to make a play. In the locker room, we were discussing how in these situations, you’ve got to be the one that wants the ball, you’ve got to be the one to put the ball on the floor when it’s point 25 and time to go.

“We really had a mentality flip and came out and took control in the second game. This is huge for this group to come back from a tough loss and sweep. The mental game has been one of our main focuses, we’ve talked about it a lot, being able to stay consistent and be able to roll with it when we make mistakes. Tonight, we were able to roll with it.”

When the Dons fended off a last-ditch rally from the Blue Eagles to close things out with a tip from senior Riley Birkhimer, that celebration that had been budding for more than an hour finally erupted.

“It was amazing in here,” Hissam said. “That’s got to be the biggest crowd that’s been in here for volleyball in a long time. The support has been great. It’s very exciting for us to get to the state tournament, it’s very big for the program.”

MORE CELEBRATING — The Madonna volleyball team celebrates after receiving the regional championship trophy. - Andrew Grimm

Madonna had been in a similar situation last season in the tournament, only needing one win to win the sectional title under the old format and dropping a pair of matches to Trinity Christian in the same night before falling on the road at Magnolia in regionals.

Drawing back on that experience, they were not about to let that happen again.

“We had been in a similar situation last year, it had happened to us before being in the position of only needing to win one and losing two in one night, so I think we really remembered that feeling and used it to get after it and make sure it didn’t happen again,” Hissam said.

Hissam, in two seasons at the helm, has guided Madonna to more wins (40) than it had in the previous seven seasons combined (35) and now its first state tournament berth. The win in the clinching game was Madonna’s 27th of the season, its highest total since 29 in 2012.

“I credit it all to the kids,” Hissam said. “They’ve bought into my message and worked very hard in the offseason and worked hard all season. They lifted, conditioned, did all the little things and it pays off.”

BLOCKING — Madonna’s Lacy Quering, left, and Geena Birkhimer attempt to block against Magnolia. - Andrew Grimm

Between the two matches, Birkhimer tallied 20 kills, which put her over the 300 mark on the season, and 37 digs. Madi Owens led the way attacking with a combined 26 kills on the night while adding 41 digs and two aces.

Sophie Brady racked up a total of 64 assists, setting up a chance to pass the 900 mark for the season in the state tournament. She also had 15 digs.

Geena Birkhimer recorded 20 kills, 11 blocks and 12 digs. Breea Birkhimer tallied six aces and 24 digs.

The seeding for next week’s state tournament will be announced at the conclusion of all the regional tournaments.

The state tournament takes place at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center Nov. 11-13.

Madonna’s Madi Owens goes up for a hit in the regional championship Wednesday. - Andrew Grimm

Madonna’s Riley Birkhimer attempts a kill. - Andrew Grimm

Blue Dons Geena Birkhimer prepares to serve. - Andrew Grimm