With memories of a South sweep still fresh in their heads, Dimond turned the tables on the Wolverines for a memorable five-set victory Friday in the semifinal round of the Class 4A state volleyball tournament.

"We wanted some redemption," Dimond middle hitter Taylor Adams said after leading her team to a 21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 26-28, 15-9 victory.

South swept the Lynx in last week's Cook Inlet Conference tournament by stifling Dimond's attack with a smothering defense.

That didn't happen in the rematch. Adams put up a monster match, getting 34 kills and nine digs to help put the Lynx into their second consecutive state volleyball final.

The defending champs will face Colony, which rode a wave of emotion into its second state final in three seasons.

As was the case in the CIC tournament, Dimond led early in the opening set, but South pulled away late. After clawing back to tie the set at 18-18, the Wolverines won seven of the next 10 points, finishing the run with a Caroline Wilson kill.

The Lynx had no problems holding onto a lead in the second thanks to a monster set by the team's towering front line. The 6-foot-1 Adams had seven kills and 6-foot-2 Katie Anderson had three kills and two big blocks.

Dimond's surge continued into the third set, a dominant victory capped off by an emphatic Adams spike that sent Dimond's sizable cheering section of maroon-clad students into a frenzy.

"Our fans are the best," Adams said. "They inspired us."

Both teams served for set-point in the fourth set, with the Wolverines finally pulling out a 28-26 victory, getting a pair of kills from Shelby Stoner and Wilson, who notched her second set-winner of the match.

Adams took over in the deciding set, clubbing a pair of kills, picking up a block and forcing a South error to help Dimond open on a 5-0 run. She had seven kills that set, converting nearly every time she was set up.

"We couldn't stop her," South coach Judy Knecht said.

Dimond coach Kim Lauwers said Adams was able to finish so convincingly so often because of the work of her teammates on the back line.

"For her to do that we had to pass and dig well," Lauwers said. "It was a total team effort."

Lauren Addington led Dimond with 26 assists, Tyler Arnold had 25 and Amanda Howard had 34 digs. Wilson led the way for South with 15 kills, Sarah Johnson had 12 kills, Morgan Hooe had 36 assists and Jessica Haines added 22 digs.

In the first semifinal match, the underdog Knights played like a team unfazed by the spotlight of playing in a state semifinal.

"They played like they had nothing to lose," Chugiak coach Kelly Kavanaugh said after watching his team drop just its second match of the season.

Getting tenacious play from their back row, the Knights frustrated the powerful Chugiak attack by digging out countless big Mustang spikes. Offensively, senior middle hitter Shellina Irwin seemed to get more dangerous with each attack.

"She got bigger as the match went on," Kavanaugh said. "Every time she hit was harder and sharper."

Irwin led Colony with 19 kills and Katie Gonski sparked the defense with 33 digs. Sierra Hodgson was a force on both offense and defense, knocking down 15 kills and picking up 28 digs.

Colony coach Amy Carter praised her defensive players for standing up to Chugiak's big hitters, Robyn Burton (12 kills) and Laila Hansen (14 kills).

"My back row did their jobs tonight," she said.

The Knights were clearly the more relaxed team, cheering, smiling and trading high-fives even on points they lost. Carter said her team's ability to channel its emotions into strong play was key.

"They played with heart," she said. "They came out ready to play."

The Mustangs were considered the favorites entering the match, even by the Knights, who came into the match with a 17-5 record. Chugiak lost once during the regular season, won the Cook Inlet Conference and were last year's state runners-up.

"We actually used that word, 'underdogs,' " Irwin said.

Chugiak's players left the court in tears, but Kavanaugh said his squad has nothing to be ashamed of after earning a conference championship banner for the school's gym.

"They wanted two, but they still got one," he said.

Dimond won last year's championship in five sets over Chugiak, while Colony won the state title in 1998 and finished second in 2007 and 2004.

Despite Friday's impressive win, Irwin said she believes the Knights will continue to play the role of spoiler in tonight's final against Dimond.

"We're still the underdogs," she said.

Find Matt Tunseth online at adn.com/contact/mtunseth or call 257-4335.

ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Class 4A volleyball

At West High

Friday's Results

Soldotna def. Juneau 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-5

Palmer def. West Valley 25-12, 25-18, 25-21

Colony def. Chugiak 21-25, 26-24, 25-20, 27-25

Dimond def. South 21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 26-28, 15-9

Today's Matches

Fourth place 10:45 a.m. -- Soldotna vs. Palmer

Third Place 2:15 p.m. -- Chugiak vs. South CHampionship 8 p.m. -- Colony vs. Dimond

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