Hamilton's boys volleyball team tested most of the ways this week to prevail in five-set matches. Get down two sets and come back to win three straight. Take a 2-0 lead and then snare the final set.

Finally, on Saturday night in the 2015 title match with Brophy, the top-seeded Huskies went five sets again. This time they see-sawed their way to a 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-12 triumph before a capacity crowd at Mesquite High School.

Hamilton (36-9-1) became the seventh different school in the last seven years to claim a state boys volleyball crown and won its 10th match in a row. It was the Huskies first trip to the final while No. 2 seed Brophy (43-3), with a 14-match win-streak in hand, was seeking a fourth title since the sport was first played for a title in the state 20 years ago. Hamilton dealt Brophy two of its three losses this season -- both of the five-set variety. Brophy beat Hamilton three times in an invitational format of two-out-of three a month ago at Brophy's tournament.

Hamilton, which seemed to have lost the momemtum after Brophy won the fourth set decisively, went out and won the title scoring four of the last five points in breaking an 11-11 tie in the final set. The points were Hamilton's doing, not Brophy miscues that dominated the late stages of the third set.

Setter Scottie Wiest gave Hamilton the lead for good at 12-11 with a rare kill. Reserve George Gilliam, who came up big in the match, followed with a kill. Brophy's final point came from none other than versatile standout and opposite/setter Andrew Lincoln. Lincoln notched his 30th kill to bring the Broncos within 13-12. Gilliam's block made it 14-12 and the championship point came when Lincoln was called for a lift lunging for a return away from the net. 

"This was very hard," an almost shell-shocked Hamilton coach Jeff Bader said. "It was back and forth. At the end we made some plays. A great match."

Saturday's match was the third this week for Hamilton that traveled the five-set distance. The first one Tuesday with Desert Vista nearly knocked the Huskies out. Not only did they lose the first two sets, but faced match-point in the third before rallying to win. The triumph Saturday was summed up pretty accurately by Brophy coach Tony Oldani.

"Everyone knew coming in they had the better team and we had the better player," Oldani said. "The better player (Lincoln) almost got it done. When it came down to it, Hamilton's defense and ball control won out."

Hamilton got key contributions from all areas. Sam Haggard and Richard Reid picked up 22 kills apiece with right side Arian Bunthanom adding 13. Libero A.J. Kalinowski had 18 digs and Haggard chipped in with 15. Wiest was busy handing out 64 assists and two big kills late in the match that helped put the Huskies over the top.  And there was reserve middle blocker Gilliam, who played sparingly this week until Saturday.

"We wanted to attack their middles and decided (Gilliam) might give us a little more offense," Bader said.

Gilliam didn't have time to think about his insertion in the lineup, but gave the team a lift.

"Coach always says to be ready to go in, but I wasn't expecting to come in," Gilliam said. "It doesn't matter who is in, or who plays we're all playing for the team, and to help us win." Gilliam made his first appearance in the second set and ended up with seven kills.

Hamilton claimed the first set, which neither team led by more than three points. Brophy settled down with more consistent hitting and no service errors (after four in the first set) to even things at 1.

Perhaps the pivotal set of the match was the third. Another tight one with neither team leadin by more than three until late. Brophy was up 21-19 after a Cole Herrmann kill. It was all Hamilton the rest of the way as the Huskies closed it with a 7-0 run. Brophy couldn't find its stroke commiting four hitting errors during that run. Brophy returned to semi-dominance in the fourth set, so much that Bader said there was some strategy already in the works for a fifth set.

"We started slow the fourth game and by the end of it they'd ran it down our throats," Bader said. "I was concerned. Mentally we were right there, but we'd played a lot of games this week. Luckily the adrenalin kicked in."