Even stepping up in classification couldn’t stop the Northlake Christian School Lady Wolverines from capturing their third-consecutive state title Saturday.

The Lady Wolverines defeated Louise McGehee 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18 in the Division IV state title match Saturday at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.

NCS had won the Division V title the last two years.

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“These girls did an outstanding job,” first-year coach Rowland Skinner said. “The adversity they had to go through all year, to come here and compete like they have, it was outstanding. We played three tough matches against three very very good teams (Dunham, John Curtis and McGehee) and I’m just so proud of them. It’s an unbelievable accomplishment. They’re just big time winners and competitors.”

NCS senior Monica Raymond was named the Most Outstanding Player. She came up big in the championship match, posting 21 kills, 24 digs and six aces.

“It is such an honor. I am going to try to work my hardest when I play with these girls and I know that every girl works as hard as they can. I don’t doubt that at all in any of my teammates,” Raymond said. “To be named that is just an honor and I appreciate it.”

The Lady Wolverines also got an excellent performance out of senior Hanna Miranda, who logged 28 assists, 27 digs, 18 kills, six aces and four blocks. Miranda comes from a family of volleyball players with her sisters playing, and her father Jimmy is an assistant coach for the Lady Wolverines. Hannah said the player she is comes from the things she’s learned from them.

“I love watching volleyball,” Hannah said. “No matter what level, I always can learn from it. But not only that, personally wise, they’ve taught me how to be a good leader, how to be solid and when things are going rough, just to be the calm one. A lot of who I am is because of not only my sisters, but also my dad as my coach. I definitely wouldn’t be the player I am, and I owe a lot to them and their encouragement. They encourage me more than I can ask for and I’m very blessed to have the family I do.”

The Lady Wolverines capped a 29-10 year after starting 5-6, while McGehee finished 33-9.

The first game was close throughout, but tied at 10-10, NCS went on an 8-3 run to open it up. Miranda began the spurt with a kill, followed by a dink. Raymond capped it with back-to-back kills. McGehee scored two straight to make it 18-15, but Raymond ended that with another kill. Later in the game, Raymond wrapped up a long rally with another kill, which gave NCS a 23-19 advantage, a lead they would not surrender in a 25-19 victory.

In the second game, the Lady Hawks jumped out to a 13-7 lead and looked as if they were well on their way to tying the match at a game apiece.

But you can never count out the Lady Wolverines, who erased a 15-7 deficit on Thursday against Dunham and a 16-9 deficit in last year’s finals.

NCS came all the way back to tie the match at 13-13. Miranda began things with a dink sandwiched between two kills.

McGehee went back on top with an NCS serving error.

The Lady Wolverines took control when they tallied five-straight with the game knotted at 16-16.

After the Lady Hawks made it 21-17, Raymond put down a kill to make it 22-17.

NCS sent a pair of kills out of bounds. McGehee pulled to within one at 23-22, but Northlake Christian pulled off the 25-22 victory with Miranda getting a kill on game point.

Miranda said the comebacks are a matter of wanting to win. She also said that being down two games in last year’s finals helped for this season.

“If you win the first two games, great for you, but you’re not promised the third,” Miranda said. “You have to fight and you can’t take for granted any moment. I look at it as just a huge blessing especially coming out with Dunham, the first day. Being in the lower division, we’re not used to having tough matches in the first round. Dunham’s crowd prepared us for Curtis’ crowd. Dunham, how they fought and everything like that prepared us for what we’re going to face. I couldn’t ask for anything better because you can tell that everything’s worked out for us. With our passion behind it and our will to win, we don’t take no for an answer and we just do what we have to do.”

In the third game, things were close early on, but leading 11-10, McGehee went on a 7-2 run and was ahead 18-12.

Northlake Christian came back to make it 18-16, but McGehee started to pull away again. The Lady Hawks’ biggest advantage was 24-16. Like the second game, this one was not over quite yet. The Lady Wolverines fought back and closed to gap to 24-23, but McGehee’s Mattie Cannon ended it with a kill in a 25-23 win.

The fourth game belonged to Northlake Christian. McGehee was up 7-6, but the Lady Wolverines posted eight in a row to get a 14-7 cushion.

Raymond recorded a kill to begin the spurt and she had two aces. After the Lady Hawks ended it, Miranda made it 15-8 with a kill.

Later on, the Lady Wolverines led 22-18. NCS got a point and then Raymond’s kill made it match point. Northlake Christian then posted the final point and began celebrating their state title.

Mary Wilson totaled 19 assists for the Lady Wolverines, while Molly Boyer added two blocks.