Where I had them, where they finished and a couple of other thoughts as we close the books on the 2016 girls volleyball season:

Let's start with some history that was made last weekend at Redbird Arena.

Mother McAuley and Marian Catholic became the first Southland duo to win titles on the same weekend since 1977.

In 1977, Donna Smith coached Mother McAuley to the first of 15 state championships. The Mighty Macs beat Queen of Peace in the Class AA championship match.

The same day, Sister Euphebia Kozlowski — known to most as Sister Phoebe — coached St. Mary of Perpetual Help to a 20-17, 20-16 win over Quincy Notre Dame to win in Class A.

Just in case you're scratching your head, St. Mary of Perpetual Help was a high school located in Bridgeport. It closed in 1985.

We came close two more times to having two girls volleyball champions in the same season. It happened in back-to-back years, when Joliet Catholic was first in Class 3A and Chicago Christian second in 2A in 2009, and Chicago Christian was first in 2A and Joliet Catholic second in Class 3A in 2010.

Did I see Saturday's double delight coming? Umm, no.

Truth be told, I didn't even have Marian Catholic in my preseason top 10, which a Marian parent respectfully called me out on a couple of weeks into the season.

My excuse? While I knew that Marian had a couple of talented Temis in sophomore outside hitter Temitayo Thomas-Ailara and junior setter Temilade Adekoya, I really didn't think there was a deep supporting cast.

But, oh, there was.

Senior libero Rachel Churilla was fearless as she spent most nights nursing bruises from headfirst dives. Senior middle hitter Ashley Sledge was a little unorthodox with her swipe swings but would prove more effective with each match. Sophomore outside Lauren Hatch and junior right-side hitter Nailah Jones made it impossible for defenses to focus solely on Thomas-Ailara.

The Spartans gave a clue they were a team to be watched when they took both Lincoln-Way East and Sandburg to three games. Their breakthrough victory came Oct. 4, when they beat Joliet Catholic 26-24 in a grueling Game 3.

It was no fluke. Marian went on to win a second match with Lincoln-Way East and beat Providence twice, including in the Chicago Christian Sectional semifinals. The Spartans' final validation came in the 3A state championship match, beating defending state champion Marian Central, which swept the Spartans easily earlier in the season.

As for that other state champion, I nailed that one by making Mother McAuley my preseason No. 1.

OK, so it wasn't exactly rocket science, but again my judgment was challenged by no less than Mighty Macs coach Jen DeJarld.

It happened after their third match of the season, a less-than-convincing 25-21, 25-22 win over Sandburg. A few days earlier, they had been on the brink against Downers Grove North before rallying to win in three games.

DeJarld stopped me after the Sandburg match and said, “Tony, seriously, why do you have us No. 1? We aren't a No. 1 team.”

To say the least, they got better, and I never moved them out of the top spot. By October, they were ranked No. 1 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com.

Junior outside hitter Charley Niego grabbed the leadership reins and did her mom, McAuley legend Therese Boyle-Niego, proud. Senior outside Katie O'Connell completed the Mighty Macs' powerful 1-2 hitting punch.

Senior middle hitter MaryKate Boland was probably the biggest surprise with her knack for performing in clutch situations, and senior Abby O'Brien hit admirably from both sides. Seniors Emma Reilly and Ashley Maher, meanwhile, were incredible with their back-row defense.

Setter Nancy Kane answered the question of whether a sophomore could run McAuley's sophisticated and fast offense on the big stage, with nearly 1,000 assists.

Beyond winning the Rich East Invitational and the ASICS Challenge, the Mighty Macs survived a brutal sectional field that included Benet, Marist and Sandburg. They beat Geneva in a supersectional match that should have been played at Redbird Arena.

McAuley's win over Minooka in the Class 4A state championship match was the exclamation point on a weekend that the Southland reigned supreme.

Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?

abaranek@tribpub.com

Twitter @tbaranek