Highland boys volleyball coach Vee Hiapo said her team has worked hard at creating its identity.

That identity can be now be described as state champions.

Coming out with confidence on arch-rival Gilbert HIgh's home court on Saturday night, thesecond-seeded Hawks pulled off a straight sets win, 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 over the defending champion and No. 4 seed Tigers at jam-packed Tiger Gymansium (The Jungle).

"Yes, they have their own identity," Hiapo said as her team and throngs of fans celebrated. "Their true identity is belief in their teammates. Their trust in one another."

The title was the third in school history under Hiapo, the last two coming back-to-back in 2004 and 2005. That team was led by Hiapo's son, B.J., who was on the bench with the team on Saturday.

Highland (29-6-1), which returned five starters and a sixth that started when healthy last year, led the entire first set, trailed briefly three times by a point in the second and only 1-0 in the third. The Hawks showed a tenacity and were able to drown out or at least nullify Gilbert's fans with a hefty fan-base of their own.

"We had a lot of alumni here that traveled  as much as 13 hours to get here," Hiapo said. "There was great support."

Hiapo credited aggressiveness from the get-go by her team for forging the  unexpected, but tightly-played sweep. Highland's attack was varied as usual with three players piling up double-digit kills. Leading the way was middle Ryan Morrison, who had 10 kills, two aces and 2 1/2 blocks. Hitter Jared Greene led in kills with 13 and middle Hayden Nielson, the newcomer to the lineup this year, finished with 11. Nielson had a monster third  set collecting five kills and a block. Those helped Highland bolt to a 13-6 lead that threatened to blow away the Tigers completely. Collin Ward had 35 assists and libero James Wallace 14 digs.

Gilbert didn't go out with a whimper. A team that returned one starter from last year's title team, managed to rally and tie the set at 20. Part of the comeback came from hitting errors by Highland, but kills from Cameron Dudley, McKay Taylor (team-leading 10 kills) and Jarrett Neal plus an ace from Chandler Baugh made it close. Highland closed out the match on a kill and block by Morrison and Greene's deflection kill that set off the postgame party for Highland's faithful.

"They came here playing their best volleyball," Gilbert coach Jeff Grover said. "They don't have a lot of weaknesses. I thought we could push them to a fourth game. It didn't happen. They came out swinging....

"I coluldn't be prouder of this team. We only had three boys that had experience. This team can be proud."

Gilbert won two of three matches the teams played during the season. Gilbert won 3-2 at home and 2-1 in the Brophyy tournament. Highland swept Gilbert in its only win during the year  at Highland.

"On the bus ride over we talked about how manhy years it had been since the school won," Morrison said. "(BJ) Hiapo told us what an amazing feeling it is. We swept them at home, and our goal was to come over here and beat them in three. We have tons of power, but it's team unity and heart that's needed. to win. We did it."