There’s a Cicero Prep plan, and it doesn’t end with Saturday's afternoon accomplishment.

The program, the favorite in the 1A volleyball final, repeated as champ after defeating another up-and-coming program, El Capitan, 25-20, 25-15, 11-25, 25-21 at Coronado High School. Bring on the next phase.

“No, we are always thinking about it,” said Cicero Prep coach Kirsten Frey when asked if it was too early to think about a three-peat. “Oh, yeah we are always thinking about it. Every day we walk into that gym we think about what is this next time going to look like. What do we want the future to look like, and where are we looking forward, not just the fire that’s at our feet, but how are we putting ourselves out there and getting stronger.”

Frey and her staff sparked that fire when Cicero Prep was a doormat.

The same goes for El Capitan co-head coaches Daisy Mills and Guinevere Timpson.

Cicero Prep went 3-15 in 2020, but that's when Frey asked her players what they wanted to accomplish in 5-10 years. Lifting a trophy last year is what they envisioned.

On Saturday, keeping the Centurions from their second ring was a determined opponent that kept fighting after dropping the first two games.

In the third game, El Capitan responded with its longest scoring runs of the match and also served five aces. A 6-0 Cicero Prep run cut into El Capitan’s nine-point lead.

But El Capitan didn’t back down against a team with a taller lineup. The third game was highlighted by three consecutive aces by senior Ashlyn Hammon, who served seven times during the stretch that helped clinch Game 3.

Rising to the occasion wasn't new to El Capitan, which knocked out the No. 1 seed, Mogollon, in three games in the semifinals. In Saturday’s final game, when El Capitan held the biggest lead (12-8) of that game, its defense made some incredible digs.

Allyssa Hammon used her body to protect herself and dig a blistering kill attempt by lefty opposite hitter Nicole Damian down the line. Damian, a sophomore, had a productive match hitting wise along with middle blocker Samantha Atwood and freshman Penelope Burman.

“If I start playing for myself, like our teammates say, it’s selfish play, and it’s not going to help anyone because you are in your own head,” Damian said. “But if you play for someone, then it’s selfless play.”

Damian said she was thinking of her dad, Dan, and mom, Anna, during the match.

El Capitan’s defense made a final incredible play and stand near the end of the fourth game.

During the longest rally in that game, with Cicero Prep clinging to a 20-19 lead, the Centurions started to celebrate when they thought that middle blocker Kathryn Harrigan slammed a set down.

But Ruth Timpson somehow managed to track down an out of bounds ball after it was dug by Allysa Hammon, allowing El Capitan to pass the ball over. Cicero Prep’s outside hitter Clair Hodgson, however, directed a shot down the line to end the rally and give her team the momentum it never relinquished.

Hodgson intelligently found open spots throughout the match. Burman had five big kills in the fourth game.

Post match, El Capitan still celebrated after receiving its runner-up trophy and finishing with a program high 26-3 record.

El Capitan became the first team at its school to return home with a trophy. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)

It was the first time that an El Capitan team reached a final.

“They have come from some really hard struggles, and we made state history at our school,” Mills said.

Ditto for Cicero Prep (26-12 record).