SIOUX FALLS – Few people likely saw this deja vu coming.

Chester Area once again turned back Warner in five thrilling sets to the win the State B Volleyball Championship Saturday night. But unlike last year’s epic five-set final, Chester Area was a heavy favorite this time around and Warner left it all on the floor before finally succumbing 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 15-10 Saturday night at the Sanford Premier Center.

“I’m very proud of these girls. They gave it everything they had,” said Warner coach Kari Jung. “We stayed aggressive. I felt our defense was solid. They just got hotter and hotter as the night went with their hitting, and it got just a little bit harder to stop them.”

The underdog Monarchs got Chester Area’s attention early on, grabbing the opening set, nearly taking the second set, and then going up 2-1 by securing the third set.

“That’s a very, very good Warner Monarch volleyball team. We knew that going in,” said Chester Area coach Jean O’Hara. “They have done nothing but pick up a pretty good head of steam this season. Every month that they’ve played they’ve gotten better and they were ready to play.”

Warner set the tone for the match at the net, thwarting numerous Flyer attempts on the way to collecting 24 assisted blocks.

“I was really happy with our front row tonight,” said Warner senior Kyleigh Schopp. “We did a really good job getting touches for our back row and just even getting blocks, so I think that really helped our overall game.”

Once Chester Area gained traction the battle was one. The Flyers feature multiple left-handed hitters so the balls were coming at different angles to the Warner side of the net. Warner senior Jordyn Jensen led the Monarchs with 27 digs on the night.

“I just try to do what I can. They had amazing hitters. They did well,” Jensen said. “I just tried to do what I could for my team, because they’ve put so much heart into everything they’ve done this season.”

Jensen said facing lefties presents a challenge, “because you don’t see many of them. You’re just not expecting the spin of the ball is a little bit different.”

The Flyers began to take control in the fourth set. Not only did they level the match at two sets apiece, but they dominated play late in the set to establish momentum for the fifth and final set.

“At the end of the fourth set you could feel it slipping,” Schopp said. “We just needed to keep the momentum going into the fifth and I think we lost it.”

Chester Area’s defense rose to another level in the fifth as the Flyers made one stunning save after another to prevent Warner from scoring.

“Those were huge to have the balls come up in the air,” O’Hara said. “That slide shot from Schopp, that’s a pretty deadly slide she’s got, and we were able to make a play on a couple of those, and that kind of saves the day for you.”

The Flyers were able to grab an early lead in the fifth and maintained it the rest of the way to win their second straight championship.

While the Monarchs came up just a bit short, they walked away knowing that they gave maximum effort.

“It was just little mistakes that got us, but I think us as a team played extremely well,” Schopp said, “and even to get here everyone doubted us, so I think that was a big accomplishment for us, just to play together as a team and fight to the end was really a big accomplishment for us.”

After losing a good share of last year’s runner-up squad to graduation, the Monarchs were able to regroup and make another strong run at the title.

“We were so underestimated this season,” Jensen said. “To see where we ended, with who we ended out there, it’s just awesome.”

Jung said a big reason for the Monarchs’ success this season can be traced directly to the upperclassmen, who helped the newcomers develop as the year went on.

“They did accomplish a lot and it really was led by our seniors,” Jung said. “They helped them feel confident and comfortable on the court. That’s a tribute to the seniors. We’re going to miss them next year.”

Warner ended the campaign with a 33-5 record and proved the doubters wrong with another stellar season capped by playing for another state championship.

“I feel like the girls really responded to what we tried to get done,” Jung said. “We kept telling them, you guys can do this, we have the talent here, and they believed it.”

Serving: Warner 12 aces (Jaycee Jung 4, Jordyn Jensen 3, Libby Scepaniak 3, MaKenna Leidholt 1, Reagan Wood 1); Chester Area 6 aces (Lily Van Hal 3, Emmerson Eppard 1, Gracie Huntimer 1, Jacy Wolf 1).

Hitting: Warner 30 kills (Kyleigh Schopp 11, Leidholt 10, Jung 5); Chester Area 62 (Wolf 20, Van Hal 19, Eppard 10, Katelyn Schut 8).

Setting: Warner 29 assists (Scepaniak 15, Wood 12); Chester Area 60 (Wolf 25, Van Hal 25).

Digs: Warner 84 (Jensen 27, Wood 12, Jung 10, Scepaniak 10); Chester Area 107 (Van Hal 25, Eppard 20, Lizzie Peterson 17, Schut 15, Huntimer 13, Alexis Bauman 11).

Blocks: Warner 2 solo 24 assists (Schopp 1 solo 9 assists, Courtney Leidholt 1 solo, Jung 6 assists, Olivia Marcuson 6 assists, Miah Leidholt 3 assists); Chester Area 1 solo 12 assists (Emilie Bleeker 1 solo 5 assists, Van Hal 3 assists, Schut 2 assists).

Records: Warner 33-5; Chester Area 32-2.