On Nov. 1, I covered the final matches in Idaho’s 5A high school state volleyball tournament. My main focus was on the lone local team still alive in the tournament: Idaho Falls High School.

The Tigers won both of their matches. The second match was for the state title. Below are the opening paragraphs of my state final day recap for Idaho Falls. Here is the full story.

The Idaho Falls High School volleyball team prepared for its final serve of the season. Its bench players stood up, clenching each other’s hands. Those hands practically lost circulation as Coeur d’Alene attempted its return.

The return was powerful. But long.

The Tigers screamed in ecstasy as they piled onto the court. They were state champions.

‘I don’t even know what was going through my head,’ said senior Bailee Mills (8 total aces, 12 kills, 26 digs). ‘It was overwhelming.’

Idaho Falls needed to beat Coeur d’Alene in two matches Saturday at Skyline High School to receive the 5A state crown. The Tigers (33-9) dropped one set all day, a tight 25-22 win for the Vikings (21-5) in the second set of the title match. The 25-15, 26-24, 22-25, 25-15 win secured Idaho Falls’ fifth state championship in program history (and under head coach Wendy Johnson) and its first since 2011.

“(My players) are no drama, they’re hard workers, they’ve done everything I’ve asked,” Johnson said. “I’m just so ecstatic for them.”