ELIDA - The momentum Hopewell-Loudon created from a regional semifinal sweep two days earlier simply rolled over to Saturday's finals.

Now, the Chieftains hope they can ride the wave from the Elida Fieldhouse all the way to suburban Dayton.

Second-ranked Hopewell-Loudon held off a couple Columbus Grove charges in the first set, and never trailed outside of a brief two-point hole in the third set as it rolled to a 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 victory in the Division IV regional finals, earning the program's first state tournament berth since 2001.

"We had times where we kinda fell, but we always came back up and got it done," senior middle hitter Brittany Egbert said.

Egbert, who for the second match in a row led all hitters with 14 kills and added a match-high nine blocks, said the team made sure it's strong play against Kalida carried over to Saturday.

"Just because we knew we were one game away from state," she said. "That's been our goal."

That last appearance marked the end of eight straight trips to state and netted the Chieftains' fifth-straight state title under coach Dave Reinhart. This year's Chieftains (26-1) will play two-time defending state champion Maria Stein Marion Local in Thursday's second semifinal (first semi at 4 p.m.) at Wright State University's Nutter Center.

The unbeaten Flyers, who beat Hopewell-Loudon in the regional finals two years ago, swept Sidney Lehman Catholic, 25-20, 25-17, 25-20.

"There's three girls (Egbert, Mary Ellen McAllister, Brianna Richey) who started my first season here as sophomores," third-year H-L coach Erin Dircksen said, "and to see them finally accomplish the goal that was set my first year here, it's kind of exciting to see it and be a part of that with those girls."

As they have all season, all three played prominent roles. Egbert served seven aces in addition to her net prowess, Richey tallied 11 kills and 10 digs and McAllister (14 assists) combined with Maggie Yost (11 digs) for 31 assists.

Richey slapped three kills in a 7-1 run that gave H-L a 10-4 lead in the first, before Columbus Grove (22-4) ran off five points in a row. Egbert's three kills, the first two off overpasses, fueled a 5-1 spurt for a 20-14 lead. Then her eighth kill of the set ended a Grove mini-run and kept the Chieftains ahead 21-18.

Hopewell-Loudon led 23-19 when Richey's spike appeared to be blocked into the H-L court but officials ruled four hits. But Columbus Grove failed to capitalize, as Jena Diller dumped the ensuing serve into the net, and Elizabeth Bentz then killed set point.

Dircksen said Bentz (8 kills) might have had more balls set her way than any other match this season.

"All week long, we've worked on making sure every hitter gets to attack the ball a couple more times than they normally do," Dircksen said. "I think that was evident today.

"I think that helps out, builds their confidence going into the next game, and it just prepares the team - 'OK, we've got to pick it up.' There were a couple times when Brittany hit the ball out, and Liz came up and really stepped up and got her job done."

If Saturday wasn't the Chieftains' best all-around match this season, it certainly was in the top two, Dircksen said.

"I would say the first time we played Calvert, in regular season, I would say that was probably the only other time we had everyone going at the same time," Dircksen said. "This was probably the best."

Egbert's kill in the second made it 7-3 and put herself on serve, and the 6-footer reeled off three aces to go with a Grove attack error and Meghan Scherger's tip kill of an overpass for a 12-3 lead. The margin swelled to 23-10 before another tip kill from Scherger eventually iced the set.

Egbert said she decides point-by-point where her mini-jump serves will go, and she doesn't intentionally put spin on the ball.

"I just go for spots, and hopefully it gets there," she said. "But I'm pretty confident it's gonna get there, so that helps, confidence. I don't usually try, but if it does, that's great."

First-year Columbus Grove coach Kelly Lepley said her team's struggles, which came mainly in passing and unforced attack errors, simply gave H-L too many chances.

"I told them, 'We've got to pass the ball; we've got serve receive well,' and we didn't do that today," Lepley said. "We didn't serve receive well, and you can't give Hopewell-Loudon freeballs or roll shots for tips. They're an extremely good ball-control team, and I told them, 'You're gonna pay. You're gonna pay if you gave them a freeball.'"

Columbus Grove claimed a 4-2 lead to start the third, but Casey Osterhage spiked into the net and two Egbert aces sandwiched a deep set kill by Yost, giving Hopewell-Loudon a lead it never relinquished.

The Bulldogs got within 12-11, but got dominated after Bentz got a clutch kill. Jessica Livesay and Egbert had serves clip the net and fall for aces in the final push, and Scherger (7 kills) closed the match with a block and two more kills.

"No matter what we did, (the Chieftains) could hit the ball," Lepley said. "I told the girls, 'You didn't lose to a team you weren't supposed to. You lost to a very, very good team.' I don't know if it makes them feel any better, but that's the way it is."

Alexis Creeger's 20 digs paced the back for H-L, and Scherger added six blocks up front. Hopewell-Loudon had six service errors but overcame that with 10 aces.

Columbus Grove top hitter Mackenzie Vorst saw limited chances and tallied eight kills, and she and Stephanie Etzkorn had 12 digs apiece. Diller and Anna Ricker added six kills apiece for the Bulldogs, while Paige Gerdeman dished out 25 assists.

After her team celebrated and received its gold trophy, Dircksen said the reality of the situation had yet to hit.

"It's good for me, it's good for the girls, especially this group of girls," said Dircksen, whose team has yet to drop set in tournament play. "We've never experienced it, so I think it'll take some more [time] to set in."