Due to being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis a few weeks after she was born, St. Laurence’s Natalie Martinez takes a lot of medicine. In the morning, she takes either four or five pills before breakfast. At night, she takes two. She usually takes five before lunch and five more at dinner. “But if I have a really, really big meal, and I use Benihana hibachi as an example, I take six pills,” Martinez said. Even for a quick snack, she breaks out the medicine. “If I eat a tiny bag of chips, I need to take four pills,” she said. The senior libero provided the right medicine Thursday night for the host Vikings, producing six aces to go with eight digs in a 29-27, 25-17 victory over Lemont in the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional championship match in Burbank. Green Bay recruit Kayla Birmingham led St. Laurence (31-5) with 13 kills and eight digs, including nine kills in the dramatic first game. Aubrey Martinez added eight kills, while Vianne Villa had 20 assists and Julie Marquez contributed seven digs. It’s the fourth sectional title in program history and third in a row for the Vikings, who play DePaul Prep (36-3) at 6 p.m. Monday in the Hinsdale South Supersectional. St. Laurence defeated DePaul 25-22, 15-25, 25-21 on Oct. 3. April Rice paced Lemont (30-8) with six kills. Sophia Swiderski and Fiona Tkach each had five. St. Laurence’s Natalie Martinez (2) drops down for a dig against Lemont during the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional championship match in Burbank on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown) Natalie Martinez, who had four aces in a six-point run to help put the Vikings ahead 10-4 in the second game, proved to be the tonic Birmingham was looking for after the exciting first game. “Getting kills is fun all of that, but you know what? It’s also tiring,” Birmingham said. “It’s really great that Natalie got those aces because I feel like it gave us our big lead and that gave us confidence.” “She mentally locks in,” St. Laurence coach Ellen Yopchick said of Martinez’s serves. “She loves serving and she’s always at practice making herself accountable. She makes sure she gets all of her reps in and takes it pretty seriously.” St. Laurence lost in the supersectional to St. Ignatius 26-24, 25-20 in 2023 and lost to Joliet Catholic 25-17, 30-28 in 2022. The Vikings want to take that next step forward, but DePaul doesn’t appear to be an easy foe. Lemont’s Sophia Swiderski (8) powers the ball over the net against the host Vikings in the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional championship match in Burbank on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown) “These are two, great quality teams and it’s a great representation of the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference,” Yopchick said. “There’s been great volleyball played throughout the season.” Martinez, who has an offer from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, does more than just take pills when it comes to having cystic fibrosis. She tries to make people aware of the disorder. She helps organize a grade school volleyball tournament and fundraiser — Dig For a Cure. In the summer, she talked to politicians and their staff members, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, about her life story to help Congress pass the PASTEUR Act. “That’s a thing with drug resistance, where our bodies become resistant to a drug and we need a new one,” she said. “They were actually amazed by the whole thing, so many people don’t know about it.” St. Laurence’s Natalie Martinez (2) bump sets the ball against Lemont during the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional championship match in Burbank on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown) There’s something else people don’t know about. Martinez has an external feeding tube on her stomach that she has had for years. “A lot of people don’t know that because I’m a libero and I dive everywhere,” she said. “I got it when I was 2 and I’ll have it from here on out. It’s like it’s not even there.” Cystic fibrosis hasn’t kept her from participating in sports, either. “Playing helps me because I keep moving and it opens up my lungs,” she said. “I’m able to breathe better by being active, so it’s like a perk to stay active. “Playing sports is not a downfall — it’s more of an advantage.” Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.