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Polk County dared to dream – and the Wolverines have delivered a dream finish. 

Nothing in a season of adversity – injuries, the storm of a lifetime, the set of a lifetime at Highland Tech – ever diminished the vision for Polk County, the dream of once again standing on the court in Reynolds Coliseum as the state’s best 1A volleyball program.

Saturday afternoon, the Wolverines claimed a second straight state championship. Kylie Lewis’ match-ending kill hit the floor and Polk’s players did as well, celebrating a 3-0 victory over Perquimans.

“Last November, on the bus coming back, I was like, we’ll be back next year,” said Morgan Yoder, the game’s Most Valuable Player.

“I really had no doubts that we could do it,” said Mia Bradley. “I knew who was coming back, I knew who was going to step up and I was positive that we could make it back here.”

Yet there were moments this fall when a repeat crown seemed unlikely. Senior Sophia Overholt suffered what appeared to be a season-ending injury at R-S Central. Junior setter Charley Dusenbury was injured days later. Tropical Storm Helene made sports an afterthought after destroying homes and lives throughout Polk County and Western North Carolina.

But Polk County (22-3) fought through all that, just as the Wolverines battled through the 1A playoffs without dropping a set. Perhaps no greater testament to the Wolverines’ grit exists than this – Polk County opponents had a total of 10 set points in this postseason and, on each, a Wolverine delivered a kill to deny it.

“It’s been a goal, a thought, a dream this whole time,” said Polk County head coach Molly Hill of winning back-to-back titles. “With all the uncertainty of this season, the what-ifs and this and that and to be able to be back here and to win in three. . . Yeah, it feels surreal. But it’s really exciting to be back here and doing this for the second time.”

Two of those opposing set points came in Saturday’s second set, and fighting those off likely all but settled the outcome for the Wolverines.

Perquimans (26-2) scored the first three points of the opening set, but Polk answered with seven straight points, then closed the set on a 10-2 run, with Yoder blasting two kills to help set up set point, on which she blocked a Perquimans kill attempt to end it and give the Wolverines a 1-0 edge.

The Pirates grabbed an early lead in the second set and largely kept it, building a late 19-16 advantage and then pushing to set point at 24-22.

But Overholt, the MVP of last year’s state final, made a remarkable left-handed kill to make it 24-23, and Yoder blasted a two-handed kill on a free ball to even the set. Another Yoder slam

gave Polk set point at 25-24, but Perquimans’ Kaydee Hunter, who troubled the Wolverines all day, evened the set at 25-25 with a kill.

Polk’s march to the state final included winning an insane 37-35 set at Highland Tech. Yoder ensured there would be no repeat, delivering back-to-back kills to put Polk up 2-0.

Here we go, indeed.

“I feel like that just gave us a little bit of confidence,” Hill said. “We were struggling. We were making so many unforced errors and kind of getting into our heads a little bit. The girls kind of panicked a bit.

“We called a timeout, and the first thing Sophia said was, ‘We’re not going to do this. We can’t do this.’ We’ve been in that situation before where we had to fight and dig out a hole, then create the lead and regain control. So they’re very aware of that and that feeling. We just talked about, calm down, get the ball back on out side, we’ve got to get the control back of this game. I felt like that shut them down, and it gave us quite a bit of confidence to get that second win under our belt.”

“We were not going to make this another Highland Tech,” Yoder said. “If we could handle Highland Tech, we can handle this. Just a two-point run. I wasn’t stressed at all. I think that match actually built us for situations like this.”

Polk took a 5-4 lead in the final set on a Bradley kill and never relinquished it. With Perquimans sensing its title hopes slipping away, Polk’s hitters began to find gaps in the Pirate defense with regularity. Kills by Overholt and Yoder pushed the lead to 20-10. A Bradley block made it 23-11. The Pirates scored a point, but then came the final two points of a remarkable career for the Wolverines’ six seniors – a Yoder kill, followed by Lewis’ shot that landed just inside the back line and sent the Wolverines swarming onto the floor.

“I thought that Morgan played phenomenal,” Hill said. “I thought the MVP award they gave her was so deserved. I really thought Kylie, pretty much every time she got the ball, she put it down. I loved that she got the game-winning kill. That’s so exciting for her.

“I thought Hayden (Blackwell) played really great on defense and serve receive today. We had great swings from Sophia. Mia was great. Lexi (Beiler) played well at the net blocking. Charley ran the show with our offense, and she blocked really well. Everybody just did what they were supposed to do today.”

Fifty wins in the past two seasons. Just 13 sets lost this year. No sets lost in the postseason. And, of course, a second straight state championship.

Maybe not even the Wolverines dared to dream all of that.

“A few months ago, I had someone ask me, what are you doing on November 2? Let’s make plans,” Yoder said. “I was like, no, I have to be at N.C. State, I have a state championship to win.”

Mission complete.