With as handily as Champlin Park dispatched of Hopkins, winning 25-16, 27-25, 25-17 in the Class 3A semifinals, it’s a little strong to say the match hinged on one brief stretch in the second set. But the significance was evident.

After dominating the first set Friday at Xcel Energy Center, Champlin Park fell behind 24-22 in the second. A tied match loomed.

The Rebels dug in. They saved one set point, then another. Hopkins edged ahead once and then again, but each time Champlin Park found a way to save the set. And when Hopkins’ star outside hitter Jaz Martin had back-to-back attacks fail, the Rebels had pulled out a 27-25 victory.

Momentum clearly resided on Rebels’ side of the court.

“I was proud of the way we handled that,” Champlin Park outside hitter Sydney Hilley said. “We got down and our motto was one-by-one, just forget what’s happened. I had confidence in the team the whole time.”

Hopkins coach Vicki Swenson was clearly disappointed that her team, making the deepest tournament run in program history, let the opportunity slip away.

“Our serve receive was not on today,” she said. “We got better for a little while there in the second set, but we couldn’t finish.”

The Rebels, with Hilley pounding away from the left side, cruised through the third set, qualifying for the finals for the first time in team history. Hilley, the reigning Ms. Volleyball, finished with 23 kills, giving her 65 for the tournament.

“They’re just a really well-disciplined team,” Swenson said. “When the going gets tough, they go to Hilley. A player like that elevate the entire team.”