NORMAL — Cassidy Cage did a lot of good things in the middle for Marist during Friday night’s match. Most of them were obvious to all because the ball landed on the court for the kill. But one that didn’t go down was just as effective. It was a misdirection tip that a Lockport defender made a lunging save on. There was no kill, but the Porters were thrown so out of system that they didn’t get the ball back over. “Yeah, over the season, I really worked hard on more tips and off-speed stuff,” Cage said later. “I was really happy to be able to put that on the court.” Hard work has paid off in a junior season to remember for Cage. She was good as gold for the RedHawks in a 25-14, 25-22 victory over Lockport in a Class 4A state semifinal at CEFCU Arena. Northwestern recruit Bella Bullington led Marist (32-9) with seven kills. Maggie Kurpeikis added six kills, while Savanah Weathers chipped in with five kills, Maddie Berry handed out 24 assists and Maryland commit Elayna Davidson made nine digs. Bridget Ferriter led Lockport (35-6) with eight kills. North Alabama recruit Jenna Kolosta added five kills, while Natalie Bochantin contributed 11 assists and Sadie Denk made seven digs. Marist will play at 8:55 p.m. Saturday in the state championship match against Benet (40-1), which rolled to a 25-15, 25-19 win over Huntley. Marist’s Maddie Berry (3) and Cassidy Cage (23) attempt to block against Lockport during a Class 4A state semifinal match at CEFCU Arena in Normal on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 (Rob Dicker / Daily Southtown) Cage, a 6-foot-2 middle hitter and Mississippi State commit, added four kills and a block. She and Berry worked the quick set to perfection three times during the first game for the RedHawks. She also also had a block early on that helped the defense assert itself at the net against Lockport’s towering hitters. Nerves, anyone? Not Cassidy. “Honestly, no, not really,” Cassidy said, smiling. “I just knew that all the practice we put in, and after the scouting that we did, we read their team really well. So I went in confident.” It was another good night in a breakout season for Cage, who has expanded on her role from last season. After Friday’s win, she has 209 kills and 81 blocks. As hard as she worked, so has Marist coach Jordan Vidovic in drawing out her maximum. Marist’s Bella Bullington (2) hits the ball into the block of Lockport’s Bridget Ferriter (17) during a Class 4A state semifinal match at CEFCU Arena in Normal on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 (Rob Dicker / Daily Southtown) “She has come a long way this season after being a part of last season as an underclassman on varsity,” Vidovic said. “I’ve been very hard on her every step of the way, just knowing what her potential was and what an amazing impact she could have on the game. “You’ve seen that in the last couple of weeks. And I’ll still be very hard on her tomorrow to be that much better. She knows and she’ll laugh about it, but she has that much ability to impact the game in so many different ways.” Lockport brought a front line that featured 6-3 Kyla Mitchell, 6-2 Kolosta and 6-0 Ferriter. “Cassidy had a good challenge ahead of her,” Vidovic said of Lockport. “They had some bigger players across the net in her position. I think that was a big difference in the match, with them not being able to get rolling with those players. “She gave us some offense as well. She has really just rounded out her game. As our team has hit its stride, Cassidy has been a major impact on that.” Marist’s Taylor Berg (8) dives for a serve against Lockport during a Class 4A state semifinal match at CEFCU Arena in Normal on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 (Rob Dicker / Daily Southtown) Berry gave Cage eight chances to hit out of the middle and Cage made no hitting errors. Their biggest night as a setting-hitting combo resulted in eight kills. They click well. “It’s the extra stuff, either before practice or even after practice,” Berry said. “I know I can trust her. I know she’s there. She’ll talk to me in the middle of a play and I know I can talk to her.” Cage has heard her loud and clear — right from the start. “I’ve always had a really good feeling about this season,”  Cage said. “I just knew the players on this team and the impact they could make. “No matter what happened along the way, our ultimate goal was to get to this point. I’m really happy that we did this.” Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.