After a three-year title drought, the Dimond Lynx have reclaimed the 4A state volleyball crown.

The storied volleyball program claimed its 17th state championship after besting the Colony Knights 30-20 in Saturday’s winner-take-all match at the Alaska Airlines Center, forced after the Lynx pulled out a 25-21, 25-19, 11-25, 23-25, 15-10 thriller to force the if-necessary super set.

Dimond took the longest possible path through the tournament to hoist the hardware — fighting back from a Thursday loss to Colony to win three consolation bracket matches, eliminating Cook Inlet Conference foes South Anchorage, Service, and Chugiak on the way to the final faceoff.

All in all, the Lynx played a whopping 26 sets over the three-day tournament, including 11 on Saturday.

Needless to say, when junior setter Puao Asailevai set it up perfectly for freshman middle Tatum Trombley to convert on match point — the emotions came flooding for the victorious Lynx.

“It was really tiring, but I’m really proud of our girls for pushing through. I will admit it was not easy,” said Lynx junior outside and co-captain Ailafo Fautanu.

“Ever since the beginning of tryouts, our chant after practice (is) ‘state champs,’” she added. “We’ve been manifesting this ever since then.”

Fautanu’s serving prowess was key for the Lynx near the end of the if-match, as she served two consecutive aces that widened their lead to 19-11 and prompted Colony to use its final timeout.

“I’ll be honest, it was a lot of pressure,” Fautanu said of serving during the big moment. “But you gotta think to yourself, stay calm, just block out all their noise … that one mindset of focusing on getting that point helped me a lot.”

After the break, a Colony error brought the serve back to Fautanu — and true to form, she smoked another ace.

“That loss (to Colony) in the beginning was pretty hard for us, but then when we went against South, something was fired up in us,” said Lynx junior outside Nia Cook, who was named player of the match.

Cook, who practically levitates when she jumps up to deliver a spike, nailed seven kills and an ace in the first two sets.

“Once we got (out of the loser’s bracket), it was like, ‘we’re so close, we’re so close,’ and we just kept each other going,” she added. “I think you can really tell how much we love each other from watching us on the court.”

4A State Volleyball

All-Tournament Team
Audrey Parks (Chugiak)
Ellie Kleven (South Anchorage)
Ailafo Fautanu (Dimond)
Dakota Evans (Service)
Gwen Nizich (Juneau-Douglas)
Taylor Passard (Colony)
Nia Cook (Dimond)
Tahtiani Keliikipi (Service)
Alli Morrissey (Colony)
Elise Kelley (Chugiak)
Emily DeHart (Colony)
Anayah Sila (Dimond)
Sportsmanship Award – Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears
Academic Award – Colony Knights (3.72)
4A Skill Awards
Defensive Specialist – Jaelyn Lorenzo (Service)
Setter – Emily DeHart (Colony)
Server – Anayah Sila (Dimond)
Hitter – Taylor Passard (Colony)

In Saturday’s first match, the Lynx worked up a 7-1 lead in the crucial fifth set thanks to a block from sophomore setter/hitter Anayah Sila and two kills and a block from Trombley. Colony worked up long rallies, with big digs from freshman setter Emily DeHart on a Trombley spike and from junior outside Alli Morrissey against a hit by Cook.

Colony gave the Lynx a run for their money, as the Knights hoped to make good on their first 4A championship appearance since 2009. In the third set, the Knights held Dimond to just 11 points, working up an early 9-3 lead behind kills from DeHart, junior outside Hailey Biorn, junior middle Callan Knutsen, and two from senior middle Ryann Evey, before an ace by junior opposite Saibree Noll made Dimond coach Kim Lauwers take a chance to regroup with her first timeout of the set.

Colony player of the match and star freshman outside Taylor Passard pitched in two kills and an ace after the timeout, alongside two kills from Morrissey and a Knutsen block that stopped a Dimond tip attempt. DeHart was also stellar in the last half of the third, with two consecutive aces, two dumps, and the block that sealed the set victory for the Knights.

“We always say it’s match by match, and anything can happen at the state tournament,” said Lauwers. “My team’s always prepared (for) — whoever we’re playing — ready for a battle.”

With a handful of seniors on the Lynx roster and just one Knights senior in Saturday’s match, volleyball fans should expect to see more from these two teams next season.