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First came the wave of points, soon followed by the wave of emotions.

Two sets into Saturday’s 1A state third-round volleyball playoff match and leading 2-0, Polk County’s six seniors began to realize that winning one more set wouldn’t just decide the match. It might also be the final set played at home of their Wolverine careers.

Tears, unexpectedly, began to flow.

So, too, did points on Christ The King’s side of the scoreboard.

Neither lasted long. Polk County regained its composure and, soon, the lead, pulling away to complete a 3-0 sweep of the Crusaders.

The victory moves the Wolverines (19-3) into Tuesday’s state quarterfinals, where they’ll travel to Gastonia to face Highland Tech (26-1), the second seed in the 1A West bracket. It will be a rematch of last year’s regional final, which Polk won en route to claiming its first state championship.

Early Saturday, it looked as if the road to a hoped-for repeat title might have hit a bit of a detour. Christ The King (18-9) grabbed an 11-5 advantage in the first set, with freshman Anna Haynes helping drive the attack that gave the Crusaders early momentum and had the Wolverines a bit on their heels.

Then Mia Bradley stepped up to serve for Polk County, and the tide turned.

CTK struggled to properly field and pass Bradley’s serves, limiting their opportunities at the net. The Wolverines, in turn, began to find their offensive rhythm. Kylie Lewis and Sophia Overholt smashed kills to pull Polk even at 11-11, and then each delivered two more as the Wolverines began to pull away.

Bradley eventually served 13 straight points before a Claire Buchsbaum kill ended the streak. But Bradley had two late kills as Polk took the opening set 25-14, closing with a 20-3 run.

The Wolverines then raced to a 9-1 lead in the second set, capping a streak in which Polk won 29 of 33 points.

A blue wave, indeed.

“I think the first set they were a little bit nervous going into it,” said Polk County head coach Molly Hill. “We had prepared and watched film and all the things, but I think the jitters got a bit ahead of them.

“But I was really proud of how they recovered, and once they got that confidence back, it was huge. I was really happy with that first set.”

The Wolverines led the second set at 20-9 before the Crusaders began chipping away at that advantage. CTK eventually closed to win 22-17, but a Bradley kill and ace gave Polk set point at 24-17. A point later, Overholt hammered a kill off a CTK block to secure the set and put Polk up 2-0.

Cue the emotions – and a six-point deficit.

“In that third set, I think it was all the unanswered questions about what’s to come and where we’re going to be and is this our last time at home or not,” Hill said. “So I just had to call that timeout and tell them, we’ve got to get our minds right. We’ve got to focus and dig out of this hole.

“And I was proud of them (for doing so).”

Polk finally evened the score at 15-15 on a Morgan Yoder kill and then steadily pulled away; the Wolverines finished the match on a 20-6 run.

Overholt had 15 kills and 15 digs, with Bradley notching 13 kills and seven digs and Yoder finishing with 11 kills and six digs. Charley Dusenbury had 38 assists and six digs, with Hayden Blackwell and Lexi Beiler each finishing with nine digs.

“I told them after the game that for 95 percent of the game, I felt like we had control,” Hill said. “We stayed really mindful and smart and played really big at the net. I was really pleased with what I saw today.”