High school volleyball fans beware, Althoff Catholic High is on a mission.

The Crusaders won the Kesslers Crossroads Classic volleyball tournament in Effingham, Ill. Saturday when they rallied to defeat defending champion and 2007 Illinois Class 3A runnerup Wheaton St. Francis.

The Crusaders, No. 1 in the Post-Dispatch small-schools rankings and No. 29 in the prepvolleyball.com poll, improved to 9-0 with a 14-25, 26-24, 25-20 triumph thanks to the tournament’s most valuable player Carly Marcum, a St. Louis University recruit.

Marcum, a 6-foot-1 senior middle hitter, used a six-point service run at match point for St. Francis in game two to key the comeback.

With Althoff behind 24-20 in the second game and Marcum serving, unheralded Hillary Keltner, a 5-10 sophomore outside hitter, had three kills (she ended with six for the match) during the run including the first two after Crusaders coach Kathy Wuller called a timeout.

“It was an amazing match,” Wuller said.

In addition to her points, Marcum finished with seven kills. Junior setter/outside hitter Carly Thomas (Missouri State) had 12 kills, 14 assists and three blocks and senior Tess Schoen added five kills for the Crusaders who won the tournament for the first time since 2005.

Althoff, which finished a disappointing fourth last season in Class 3A, are getting the needed leadership it lacked last season. Schoen, who was outstanding last week in a victory at Cor Jesu, Marcum and Thomas are all showing the way for the Crusasders, who want to win the state championship this year to wipe last year’s bitter ending.