HUTCHINSON – Amid the obvious pressure of playing for a state championship, Silver Lake volleyball coach Sarah Johnson relished what she witnessed from her players on Saturday.
 
Facing a familiar foe in Holton for the Class 3A title at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, the Eagles finished strong in the opening set, then took the Wildcats’ best shots early in the second, falling behind by four points.
 
But with an array of weapons that propelled Silver Lake into the state tournament with just a single loss in mid-September and the No. 1 ranking in 3A, the Eagles gathered momentum for a celebration.
 
Silver Lake wrested the lead for good on senior Paige Winsor’s kill. The Eagles then steadily stretched their advantage before Winsor’s swing on match point caromed off Holton’s Tinley Wilson and out of bounds to give the Eagles a 25-21, 25-19 victory and their 10^th state volleyball championship.
 

Silver Lake displayed grit through several hard-fought sets to sweep five tournament opponents and complete the season with a 46-1 record, setting a school record for victories. Led by Winsor and fellow seniors Paige Heiman, Jaiden Wise and Lexi Neufeld, the Eagles punctuated their title run with their fourth victory over Holton this season.
 
“I thought we were much more ourselves, which is calm, poised and confident,” said Johnson, comparing the Eagles’ semifinal victory over Hoisington and championship sweep of Holton to occasional pool-play jitters that surfaced on Thursday, the tournament’s opening day. “We weren’t letting one error, two errors rattle us.
 
“They were out there in tense situations, talking and communicating with one another very effectively and productively.”
 
Holton, looking to capture its first state title as a sixth seed in the eight-team tournament, secured its best finish in program history when it outdueled Hoisington, Osage City and Riverton to win its pool, then rallied past Wichita Trinity 23-25, 25-23, 25-20 in Saturday’s semifinals. But the Wildcats, who dropped a trio of three-set matches to Silver Lake in a five-day span in September, were eager to break through against the Eagles and win when the stakes were highest.
 

There was no sneaking up on Silver Lake, however.
 
“It was tough,” Heiman said of facing Holton a fourth time. “We played them three times in a week. But I think we all wanted them in this championship game. We were ready for them.
 
“This is the only time we didn’t go three sets with them, and I think it’s because we knew how to play them.”
 
In simplest terms, Silver Lake pressured the Wildcats from all angles.
 
Holton, which finished 38-10, played the Eagles even through the first half of the opening set. With Wilson, a junior, and sophomore Khloe Black on the attack, the Wildcats led 12-10 before Silver Lake made its first big push.
 
Heiman had two kills, and Winsor and sophomore Karys Dieter each had one during a 6-1 run that gave the Eagles a 16-13 lead and forced Holton to call timeout. Silver Lake maintained the advantage, stretching it to 21-17 before the Wildcats countered with a run to tie it at 21.
 
That’s when Dieter took over. She scored the next three points from the left side for the Eagles – one after a long rally – to give them set point. With Winsor serving, Silver Lake got it when Black hit into a block.
 
“I needed to swing away for my team,” Dieter said. “I had all the players in the back row covering me, and I just felt like I could just swing away at the ball and be aggressive.”
 

In the final set, Holton built an 8-4 lead before Silver Lake settled into championship form. The Eagles countered with the next five points, taking the lead on Wise’s kill after a lengthy volley. After Winsor put Silver Lake ahead to stay with a kill to make it 10-9, sophomore Kinley Weber combined with Winsor for a block.
 
Winsor’s big serve gave the Eagles a three-point lead. Heiman followed with a tip for a point and Dieter unleashed a powerful kill to make it 17-12. After another kill by Dieter, Heiman scored with a block, added another by hitting off a Holton block, and when the Wildcats committed a hitting error, it was 21-14.
 
“Ball control and blocking,” Holton coach Kristel Bontrager said of the Wildcats’ keys that could have produced the upset. “If we could take the opportunity for them not to attack us, it would take them out of system and then we would have more opportunities. We did what we could.”
 
The Wildcats got a kill from Emily Ditzler and another point at the net from Rebekah Lassey to cut their deficit to 21-16. But it was the last time Holton scored consecutive points.
 

Wise, who joined junior setter Kylie Hanni and junior libero Jaylie Whitehead as Eagle all-tournament selections, scored her final kill off a block. Weber added a point in the middle to get Silver Lake to match point and when Winsor unleashed her shot off Wilson to secure the title, the Eagles piled onto the court.
 
“We were down a few points in that (final) set, but I think in our brains we knew we could come back in this,” Wise said. “We just continued to rack up those points, serving aggressively. Defensively, our blocks were great that second set. I think we were just ready all around.”
 
The championship medal felt especially good around Heiman’s neck. Her older sister, Rachel, was part of Silver Lake’s 2014 state championship team under Johnson, who notched her fifth 3A title on Saturday. Heiman’s future sister-in-law, Brooke Lindstrom, won titles with the Eagles in 2016 and 2018.
 
Rachel also collected state track and basketball team titles at Silver Lake.
 
“I’ve been dreaming of this literally since my sister won state,” Paige Heiman said. “It’s a blessing. It’s the best team I’ve ever been a part of and I love them with all my heart.”
 
CLASS 3A
 
At Hutchinson Sports Arena
 
Semifinals
 
Silver Lake def. Hoisington 25-22, 26-24; Holton def. Wichita Trinity 23-25, 25-23, 25-20.
 
Championship
 
Silver Lake def. Holton 25-21, 25-19.
 
Third place
 
Wichita Trinity def. Hoisington 25-22, 15-25, 25-21.