SALINA — The scene was a familiar one for St. Thomas Aquinas volleyball seniors Grace Martin and Kate Wells, who celebrated courtside Saturday at Tony’s Pizza Events Center.

But don’t think for a minute that familiarity made the Saints’ second straight Class 5A state championship — the third in four years for the senior class — any less special.

“Oh my gosh, it’s all we ever wanted. It never gets old,” Martin said after the Saints’ straight-set 25-22, 25-19 victory over Eastern Kansas League rival Blue Valley Southwest in the final. “We've been putting in so much work this whole season.

"It really is crazy. There's nothing like it. These championship games, you have to put everything on the floor, but it's the best feeling."

Wells, a force in the middle as the Saints' leading blocker, concurred.

"It's amazing every single time," she said. "It's truly indescribable, the feeling."
 

Both teams came into the finals on a roll, breezing through their three pool play matches Thursday and Saturday morning's semifinals without dropping a set. Aquinas beat Maize South 25-17, 25-23 to advance, while Blue Valley Southwest knocked off Lansing, 25-21, 25-13.

Southwest, which fell to Aquinas in their only regular-season meeting, led 19-18 in the opening set on the championship before a late Saints surge clinched it.

"I have so much respect for them," said Martin, whose kill from the back row secured the set after a service ace by Southwest's Taylor Stanley had trimmed the deficit to 24-22.

It was Southwest that jumped in front to start the second set, opening an 11-8 lead before Aquinas reeled off four straight points on libero Malin Chaput's serve that included three straight blocks by Wells and Alayna Vaeth. The Saints never relinquished the lead.

"It's pretty cool. It's pretty competitive," Wells said of facing another EKL team in the championship. "It helps that we beat them (previously), but every game is a new game, so we just came out playing our game, playing the way we like to play."

The championship gave Aquinas a final 33-5 record for the season. Blue Valley Southwest, which advanced to the finals after failing to advance out of pool play in last year's state tournament debut, finished at 37-5.
 

While Aquinas' six seniors left quite a legacy with three state championships, Saints coach Sarah Ikenberry has celebrated twice as many titles in her career. She was a player on the school's first championship team in 1995 and in 11 seasons as head coach has won five, all in the past seven years.

"Every one's different and every one's special," Ikenberry said. "It's always the group of girls, just a different mix.

"Every group is tight, but this one just seems like friends were first. They were such a tight-knit group and they put friendship over anything."

That, in a nutshell, was Wells' takeaway from this season as she prepares for a college career at Central Oklahoma.

"Our team, the blend we have is really special, and I think that makes it 100 times better," she said. "I'm just filled with gratitude for this program. I don't think there's a program like it in the state.

"I feel like they've made me a better person and a better player, and I'm going to take that with me as well."
 

 
CLASS 5A
 
At Tony’s Pizza Events Center, Salina
 
Semifinals
 
St. Thomas Aquinas def. Maize South 25-17, 25-23; Blue Valley Southwest def. Lansing 25-21, 25-13.
 
Championship
 
St. Thomas Aquinas def. Blue Valley Southwest 25-22, 25-19.
 
Third place
 
Maize South def. Lansing 27-25, 28-26.