“We aren’t done.” It wasn’t a statement, it was a command.

When The Village High School girls volleyball team was down two sets to Platte Valley in the 3A state title match, senior Erika Sayer said these words to the team before entering their potential last set of the season.

Sure, they were down two sets after giving up a nine-point lead in the second, but they weren’t going to lose. There was simply no other option.

“We were playing for each other,” Sayer said while holding the coveted first-place trophy. “We didn’t want our season to end. We also did not want anything less than gold, we like gold.”

In the last championship game still playing on Saturday, the Mountaineers won the 3A state volleyball title in dramatic fashion in their first year with a volleyball team.

Being down two sets was uncharacteristic for the Village, who have not lost to a Colorado team since Aug. 30. Of their 28 matches before the state title game, only three  have gone to four sets this year. On Saturday, the Mountaineers fought tooth and nail in a thrilling 32-30 third set and played the fifth to the wire.

It was four years in the making, but one worth the wait for the special group, many of whom had played together previously.

See, before this year, the Village didn’t have a volleyball team, causing players to play at other high schools. Some played club together on the club team Colorado Juniors. Wanting to play for their own school, Sayer and teammate Olivia Plentl went to Village principal Nathan Gorsch their sophomore year to ask for a volleyball team. Two years later, that wish became reality.

“Us being down and coming back today showed how much we cared about each other,” Plentl said, tears still streaming down her face. “We won because we loved each other. We fought so hard for so long to have this team, so to win is so amazing.”

Winning a state title in their first year as a team may seem like a fairytale. But to them, it wasn’t. While it was their first year as a team, most had known each other through school, allowing team chemistry to quickly develop.

That became their superpower.

“That’s the reason we won,” Sayer said. “Volleyball is the ultimate team sport. You can’t do it alone. Knowing that and having the chemistry and camaraderie we have … we knew we could do it.”

First year head coach Shannon Baker, who had previously coached some players at the club level, knew this team was special because of that. That’s why she wanted to be their coach. She credits the team’s win to its perseverance and is excited about getting the Village’s name on the map.

While the team will lose four seniors next year, including Stanford commit Sayer, Saturday’s win is a starting point. Even if they didn’t win on Saturday, having a team at all this season was all they could have hoped for. Getting a state title? Now that’s special.

“It means everything,” coach Baker said. “It sets the stage for a lot of good things to come for this team. We are going to continue this culture and continue to build something special.”