No. 2 seeded Hillsboro won their second straight title after beating No. 1 seeded Garden Plain in the 3A championship match.
"They work hard," head coach Sandy Arnold said. "They have the talent, but they also spend in the time. They are very good at buying into what I teach them and that is huge. If you get gets to follow you and believe in your system that just makes all the difference in the world."
They worked hard just to get to the championship match. Their contest with Southeast of Saline went to 3 games.
"I had a really big stomachache after the first match," Arnold said. "It was the longest match ever."
The Trojans hadn't gone up against the Owls until Saturday, but they had heard the team's strengths, "I talked to some coaches and we knew how tough they were and how smart they were," said Arnold.
Both matches with Garden Plain were very close, but both times the Trojans were able to edge the Owls out, 25-21 and 25-16 in the second match.
"When we are ahead and we just play like were ahead and we're just always on the attack," senior Tena Loewen said. " I think that's what did it for us. We started to wear them out. And our attitude is just never die. Don't let any ball hit the floor without your best effort."
The team has 6 seniors on the team, but underclassmen still had plenty of opportunity to play.
"It's really nice having upperclassmen who get along great with us," freshman Alex Ratzlaff said. "They don't treat me like a freshman on the court."
Hillboro has now one three state titles.
