It looked like it might be “easy.” Lakeville South cruised through its first two matches of the Class 4A state tournament, delivering a pair of sweeps largely featuring dominant sets. Saturday looked like more of the same in the final at Xcel Energy Center. The Cougars bested Champlin Park 25-16 in the first set and 25-17 in the second. One more performance like that and Lakeville South would breeze to its first state title in program history. It wasn’t that easy — it’s never that easy. But that likely made it all the sweeter. The Cougars did it the hard way, holding off second-seeded Champlin Park in a five-set thriller, 25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 20-25, 15-10, to win state title No. 1 in the program’s third trip to St. Paul. “It’s insane,” Cougars sophomore Kaelyn Bjorklund said. “I don’t know when it’s going to hit us. But when it hits us, we’re going to be partying.” The two programs competing Saturday shared a similar path to this point. Both have been excellent teams for years, only to suffer heartbreak in sections. Both finally broke through this fall to get back to state, and rode the wave of momentum all the way to Saturday’s finale. And the finale lived up to its billing. Gophers commit Carly Gilk paced the Rebels (30-4) with 22 kills. Romi Chlebecek led Lakeville South with 20 kills, while Elleora Utecht had 17 in a match that featured some wild momentum shifts, and ultimately ended in euphoria for the Cougars. So many great players and teams have gone through Lakeville South’s program over the past decade, but the ultimate prize continued to elude the program. Asked Saturday if he began to question if this moment would ever come to fruition, Lakeville South coach Stephen Willingham joked he might prefer to not answer that question. But Willingham tells his players at the start of every season that nobody is going to remember their record years from now. The players will remember their relationships and experiences. But even he had to amend that take after Saturday’s result. “Maybe this year, we will remember our record,” he said with a smile. “I kind of feel like you have good people, a good culture, and we happen to have really awesome volleyball players this year. The winning, if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” Maybe that looked destined this fall on paper. The Cougars are deep and supremely talented. They entered the year with title aspirations. But that was far from a guarantee. They had similar goals a year ago and were bounced in the section semifinals. This time, though, Lakeville South (32-2) was not to be denied. “I think this group was one of the most determined I’ve ever been a part of,” Utecht said. “I think that determination and that drive, we played and we wanted it for each other. And I think that really helped carry us all the way.” Bjorklund said this group of Cougars was “special all around,” noting it “felt right always.” Even as, to everyone else, things appeared to be slipping away from Lakeville South in sets three and four Saturday. The message the players continued to share with one another: Continue to smile. After all  — it’s about the relationships and the experience. As for the title — well, it looks as though it was indeed meant to be. “We worked for it, we never gave up,” Cougars senior Josie Tingelhoff said. “It feels honestly amazing to win it with this group of girls. I wouldn’t want it any different.” Related Articles High School Sports | High school football: Owatonna edges Cretin-Derham Hall in overtime in Class 5A quarterfinal High School Sports | State volleyball roundup: Alexandria, Hawley, Mayer Lutheran win titles High School Sports | High school football: Chanhassen eliminates St. Thomas Academy in Class 5A quarterfinals High School Sports | High school football: Shakopee runs past Mounds View in 6A quarterfinal High School Sports | High school football: Anoka slips past Lakeville North in 6A quarterfinal