Winning a fourth straight 5A-I volleyball title looked as though it would be a walk in the park for Xavier after the first game of Wednesday's championship match between the Gators and Hamilton. It ended up being anything but that.

Hamilton put the biggest scare in Xavier during its four-year run, but the Gators found the resolve to rally from way back in game 4 and then coasted in game five to achieve a fourpeat. Scores of the match were 25-15, 19-25, 19-25, 25-23 and 15-6.

Xavier (41-5) knocked off its fourth different opponent in their current run. Corona del Sol, Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe were the other three. The title Wednesday also was Xavier's ninth in volleyball in the last 15 years and sixth in the new millennium.

"This has been the craziest season," Xavier coach Tim McHale said. "With injuries, different lineups it's a tribute to our kids the way they came through."

Hamilton, which reached its first girls volleyball final in its decade-plus history, closed the season with a 35-7 record. The Huskies came very close to ending Xavier's reign with some stellar play in the middle 2 1/2 games.

Hamilton had everything going for it in games 2 and 3 with hitting, blocking and digging textbook in execution. The fourth game began the same way with the Huskies jumping to a 9-1 lead. McHale asked for a timeout at that point with the season's end approaching much too fast.

"I told them we were getting run our of gym," McHale said. "If we come back out and score a point, it's 9-2. We had to get something going."

Little by little Xavier crept back in and tied the game at 16. It went back in Hamilton's favor a couple times, the last time at 23-22. Back-to-back kills by junior setter Bianca Arellano put Xavier in front, 24-23 and the Gators closed it out after Hamilton tried to regroup with a time out.

"She's unorthodox at times," McHale said of Arellano. "But the last week has been a coming out party for her."

With the momentum now on its side, Xavier bolted to a 6-1 lead in the decisive game. At least six different Xavier players recorded kills in the final game.

Hamilton coach Sharon Vanis, who saw her team lose a tough five-set match to the Gators two weeks ago, saw the scenario played out again.

"It slipped through our fingers," Vanis said. "We could have given up after the first game the way Xavier played. I was proud of our girls. We battled back after the first game and had things going our way. But Xavier showed they've been here before. They know how to win."