If it proved anything — other than just how good Eden Prairie is — the Eagles’ 25-23, 25-18, 25-20 victory over Wayzata in the Class 3A, Section 6 championship match Saturday showed that volleyball can be played as successfully below the net as above it.

Led by three seniors, none taller than 5-7, Eden Prairie did its best to keep the gym floor at Benilde-St. Margaret’s in pristine shape. Playing defense with a sense of urgency, the trio of libero Lauren Mattison, setter Elizabeth (Elmo) Mohr and outside hitter Abby Ihrke paced the Eagles to their third consecutive victory over Wayzata this season and sent them to the Class 3A state tournament for the fourth year in a row.

“Defense is what we’ve been focused on all year,” Eden Prairie coach Chad Becker said. “We were really locked in on stopping their big hitters. The way we played today is a credit to our back-row players and our blockers.”

Wayzata, fresh off an impressive semifinals victory over Hopkins, rarely generated any easy offense against Eden Prairie’s back-row backboards, often needing repeated attacks and long rallies to score a point. Making opponents toil plays right into the Eagles’ hands.

“I’m not a hitter, so I don’t know for sure, but I can’t imagine it would be much fun to think you have a kill and someone comes in and picks it up,” Mattison said. “When I see the looks on their faces, that’s my favorite part.”

For her part, Ihrke not only played airtight defense, she also came up big on the offensive end with big cross-court kills and even an occasional block. She had eight kills in the second set alone.

“I don’t know how she does it,” Becker said. “She’s done it for three years on the back row and two years in front. She’s a true leader.”

Ihrke couldn’t come up with an answer for her versatility, but she did have an appropriate response.

“After matches, I’m tired,” she admitted not surprisingly. “Real tired. But during the matches, I never think about it.”