ALBANY, N.Y. (WROC) — Penfield's perfect season came to a perfect ending on Saturday, as the Patriots boys volleyball team took down Ward Melville in straight sets to secure the Division 1 state title. "Never any doubt. I knew that they were going to do it," said Penfield head coach Mike Fink. "I'm so happy, they earned it in every moment of the season. I've never seen a group of guys that worked harder. They cared so much about this. They cared so much about each other it feels so good." While the end result was a 3-0 sweep, the match was anything but easy. Penfield stormed out of the gate in the first set and led 17-10. But Ward Melville answered back with a flurry of points to tie the set at 21. WM had set point at 24-23, but Penfield finished the set strong and took the first 27-25. In the second set, Ward Melville raced out to a 12-2 lead. They kept in front and seemed prime to take the set, holding a 21-13 lead. But Penfield scored four straight points to make it 21-17. Ward Melville responded with a pair of points to lead 23-18, but Penfield ended the second set with an 8-1 run to take the set 26-24. Sophomore standout Owen Gutman had the set-clinching kill. "It was just gaining momentum, that's what we needed to do," said Gutman. "We had to battle for it but we got it. The big thing was to keep energy and momentum." "I knew they had the ability to do it," said Fink, who just completed his second season as head coach at Penfield. "I think the big thing was we were playing a little bit timid and playing to avoid mistakes. They changed up, they made sure to go out there and be aggressive and play like they were unafraid, and they did." Penfield had an early lead in the third set and maintained it through much of the game, but things tightened up at the end once again. The Patriots led 23-19 until Ward Melville tallied three straight points to make it 23-22. However, Penfield would not be denied as they scored the final two points of the set to win 25-22. This is the fourth state title in program history for the Patriots. They won in 2016 and 2017, with their most recent championship coming in 2021. That was a memorable day for some of the seniors on this year's team. "My freshman year I came to watch our seniors get this state championship just as we did," said senior captain Ian Equinozzi. "I got voted number-one fan for Penfield. Seeing this come full circle, it's the most beautiful thing to watch. It's almost cinematic. I'm just happy to be a part of it. It's amazing." Gutman led the team in kills, continuing a phenomenal season where he was named MVP of the sectional tournament. This is just his first season at the varsity level, primed to lead the Patriots deep into the state tournament for the next two years. "It feels amazing," said Gutman. "Winning in volleyball, that's what I love doing. I love playing it, winning makes it even better. This is what I was hoping for."