Not only was Saturday afternoon's meeting between Desert Vista and Hamilton a rematch of the last two years Westwood Tournament of Champions final, it also represented a reprise of last year's Division I championship match.

The final result Saturday didn't change from a year ago. Desert Vista came back from a set down and capped a perfect day with a rally from a 7-2 deficit in the decisive third set to post a 2-1 win over Hamilton at Westwood High. Scores were 22-25, 25-11 and 17-15.

"It wasn't me, it was them," Desert Vista coach Molly West told congratulatory fans greeting her after the match. "They did it. ... I like what I've seen so far from this team, especially their resilience. We've put ourselves behind in some matches, but have been able to show some grit and come back. That happened in this one. We're developing good chemistry."

Desert Vista won all nine matches it played Friday and Saturday in the tournament  to run its overall record to 13-1 following last year's state title that saw the Thunder beat Hamilton in five sets in the final. It also marked the fourth year in a row Desert Vista reached the title match of the TOC. Its rally in the final set to overtake Hamilton was special, as was the set itself on both sides. Hamilton beat Gilbert 2-0 in the semis and Desert Vista did the same against Perry to qualify.

Hamilton reeled off a 7-2 lead in the third set as Desert Vista failed to carry over the momentum of a crushing win in the second set. After calling a time out and settling down from several errors that put them in a bind, the Thunder managed to even the set at 10 with opposite Olivia Fairchild and outside hitters Hailey Harward and Hailey Dirrigl finding a rhythm on offense.

After tying the set at 10, Hamilton took control again, taking a 14-11 lead. Hamilton middle Preslie Anderson, frustratred several times by Desert Vista's block in the final set, came up with a block of her own and a kill to put the Huskies on the brink of winning. Desert Vista fought off three match points using a kill by 6-foot-8 middle Racheal Kramer and kill and block by Fairchild. Fairchild put Desert Vista ahead for the first time in the set with a kill to make it 15-14, but Anderson answered in kind to tie it a final time. A net violation and what else --a Fairchild kill  -- gave the Thunder another piece of tournament hardware.

Fairchild was a menace to Hamilton the entire match, finishing with a team-high 14 kills and making it a double-double with 13 digs. Dirrigl added eight kills and libero Kendall Glover did her share on defense (31 digs). Setter Sydney Mathison finished with 39 assists. 

"Both sides played at a high level, it was fun," West said. 

Hamilton, which entered the tournament 5-0 in power-ranking matches, posted an 8-1 record over the two days and rests at 13-1 overall. The Huskies were led on the attack by Anderson and Kayla Banyai with eight kills each and Darian Clark with seven.

Hamilton and Desert Vista combined for seven of the 11 players chosen to the all-tournament team. Hamilton selections were Anderson, libero Hailey Babcock, OH Olivia Hallaran and Clark. Desert Vista's selections were Fairchild, Glover and Mathison. Rounding out the team were Gilbert middle Alexa Rockas and hitter Kaitlyn Lines; Sunnyslope setter Katie Oleksak and Perry middle Kennedy Kaminski.