ALA-Gilbert North could see its first state girls volleyball title in its grasp as it entered the fourth set.

It was time for the 1-2 punch

Senior pin hitters Tana Howard and Dissy Brinkerhoff took the Eagles home. Brinkerhoff hit eight of her match-high 23 kills and Howard added five of her 14 in the set as the top-seeded Eagles beat defending 4A champions Estrella Foothills 23-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-21.

“It was something we talked about before that fourth set because by that point it was win or go home. We wanted to utilize our best players and put them in the best position possible. We know how good Tana and Dissy are. We have a lot of really good players on this team, but sometimes you have to take advantage of matchups,” ALA-Gilbert North coach Matt Pritulsky said.

The third set was the pivot point.

The Eagles built leads of 13-7, 18-12 and 24-20. But the defending champions stormed back with four straight kills by sophomore outside hitter Sadie Snyder.

But Gilbert North calmed down and went to its money attackers, seniors Howard and Brinkerhoff, to put away the last two points.

“We all got in the middle for a second and told each other, ‘We need this point. We have to do it,’” Brinkerhoff said. “Hearing the crowd after that kill was even better. All the cheering and hearing it with my teammates was great.”

ALA-Gilbert North broke out to a 14-10 lead to start the match before the new Wolves showed some resolve behind junior defensive specialist Allison Caton’s serve, with six straight points.

Second-seeded Estrella Foothills took a 24-20 lead. ALA-Gilbert North fended off three set points before failing to get it over in three to end the frame.

Coach Jennifer Gonzales’ Wolves returned to the final despite losing 11 seniors to graduation from the 2022 championship squad. A large group of varsity newcomers like Caton kept the standard high.

“They never say never and they never give up. That’s why we are in the position we are in. We always have a chance to win. I’m super proud of the fact that we’re in the state finals. I never would have thought that coming off last year’s win. It was a rebuilding year that became a reloading year I guess,” Gonzales said. “Ten new faces wanted to make the state final and they did.”

After the Wolves stormed out to a 5-0 lead, the Eagles took command the rest of the afternoon. They tied the set at 11 and only trailed once more in the second.

“The first set was about getting the nerves out and being able to totally warm up and check with the setter,” Brinkerhoff said.

Blocks tell the story, a 16-2 ALA-Gilbert North advantage. The Eagles also were more efficient in attack, with a .182 kill percentage.

“They have multiple attackers and a bigger block. We couldn’t find our way around it. We weren’t hitting like we needed to hit. We did a lot of tipping, and that wasn’t going to land with that team,” Gonzales said.

Pritulsky is in his first year as head coach, but he realized the opponent made Friday’s 4A final a little more urgent.

Last year was the Eagles’ first in 4A and they went 17-0 and earned the second seed. Estrella Foothills won 3-0 in the state semifinals to end the run.

“It seemed to me that they were a better team than how they played at the end of last year. That’s not taking anything away from Estrella, they’re a great program,” Pritulsky said.

Seven seniors got to see the program grow from 3A to 4A champions in their four years.

“Jessi Brewer, our captain, is really the soul of our team. She’s somebody everybody loves and she’s able to bring the team together. People don’t just want her to succeed. They want to succeed for her,” Pritulsky said.