After watching Patuxent crush ball after ball in warm-ups, Dulaney could have packed it up before last night's Class 3A state volleyball semifinal at CCBC-Essex.

But the No. 3 Lions hung tough and played well despite being swept, 15-10, 15-11, 15-12, by their huge opponent from Calvert County, ranked No. 3 by The Washington Post.

Patuxent will meet fourth-ranked Mount Hebron at 7.30 p.m. Saturday at CCBC-Catonsville for the 3A state championship. This is the first trip to the state final four for the Panthers, who have had a varsity program for only five years.

Dulaney came out undaunted in the first game, and there were five ties, the last at 9-9, before Patuxent, with its pair of 6-foot-2 hitters, Candi Claggett and Charese Baldwin, pulled away to take it by five.

That pattern followed the next two games, as the Lions (16-3) made valiant, unsuccessful attempts to stay with the high-setting Panthers (16-1).

"I told the girls you can't base how a team is going to play by their warm-ups, and our girls didn't have a good warm-up but started well," said Dulaney's first year coach, Joanne Marshall, who starred in volleyball at UMBC. "Unfortunately, we ran into a very good group of girls. They had a good six players [on the floor] and we had a good four, but I'm proud of the way our girls played."

Senior hitter Jen Wylie, who had 14 kills to keep the Lions competitive, took the loss hard.

"It's tough to take. This is my senior year, and it's emotional, " said Wylie, who has been a key cog for three years.

"We had played them [the Panthers] in the Bulldog Classic this year and took a game. We knew they were tall and good, but we had a good season. Because we lost a couple of seniors from last year and had a new coach, a lot of people didn't think we would do well. But we proved them wrong, and I'll always remember the intensity this team had."

Fellow senior Bruna Fonseca typified the intensity. She was all over the floor, digging and blocking, and had 22 assists. Her all-out play and junior Sarah McKinley's hitting with seven kills helped the Lions get to within 12-11 in the pivotal Game 2. Patuxent then scored the last four points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Claggett had five blocks and as many kills, and Baldwin had eight kills and six blocks for the Panthers. Setter Katie Zimmerman had 25 assists.

To its credit, Dulaney played Patuxent to four ties in the third game, the last at nine. Down by 14-9, the Lions still didn't quit and closed to 14-12 on Wylie's power hitting. The match ended on a double touch to give Patuxent the 15-12 victory.

"Overall, we had a better season than a lot of people thought, and, as I said, I'm very proud of our girls," Marshall said.