When the members of Manheim Central's boys' volleyball team stepped onto the court for the state championship in University Park on June 14, they were staring down a familiar foe - Meadville, the same team that dashed their title hopes just a year ago. This time, though, the Barons were back with a score to settle. Fueled by redemption and relentless determination, they flipped the script, defeating Meadville 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-15, 27-25) and capturing the first PIAA title in program history.

"It was a real heartbreaker to go out the way we did last year," said coach Craig Dietrich, who recalled his team's 27-25 loss in the fourth set against Meadville. "We knew we were on a collision course to play them again this year in the finals, and we were ready."

Meadville took an early lead in the championship match, winning the first set, but the Barons came back strong to take the next three.

"We felt pretty confident coming into the game," Dietrich said. "We knew if we played the way we are capable of playing, there was a strong chance we'd win the match." When his team was down a significant number of points, however, Dietrich knew he had to rally the troops.

During a timeout, he reminded the Barons of their greatest strength.

"We weren't serving very aggressively, and I knew we needed to do that," Dietrich remarked. "The team responded, and that benefited us."

The team's win puts the players in rare air. It's the first time Manheim Central volleyball has won the state championship, and it makes the team only the third Barons sports team to win any state competition in the district's history; the others were field hockey and football.

Dietrich credits the leadership of the senior players with the team's success.

"The team has a really strong bond," he said. "We have a group of six seniors who are phenomenal leaders. We rely on them when things get tough. They always had a certain confidence; it's a calming confidence. They knew they were going to take control on the court because of the experience that group had. When you've been through tough times, it gives you the experience you need to fight harder to win."

Seniors Landon Mattiace, Reagan Miller, Dylan Musser and Colin Rohrer accepted the trophy on the team's behalf. Other players who received medals at the state championship are Cole Arter, Daniel Becker, Ryder Buckwalter, Wyatt Buckwalter, Bryan Fahnestock, Caleb Groff, Jay Hollinger, Gavin Lonecker, Weston Longenecker, Will Myers, Blake Neiles and Asher Ulrich.

Looking ahead to next season, Dietrich acknowledged it will be hard to see his seniors leave.

"We are graduating probably one of the best teams we've ever had," he said. "But we've got some great kids at the JV level ready to step up and fill in those roles."

In the meantime, he and the team are focused on enjoying their moment of success and ending their season on top.

They celebrated as a team after their win at the championship, but they are also planning a more in-depth celebration in the future. Two of the kids on the team left right after the game for a mission trip, so Dietrich is planning to commemorate the win once the team members' schedules allow.

Returning home to Manheim, the team enjoyed a police and fire company escort and was greeted by several hundred fans who showed their support as the team arrived at the high school.

"We're just really proud of how the community came out and supported us during the season, the postseason and at the state championship," Dietrich said, noting that the crowd cheering on the Barons was larger than the Meadville crowd. "It was an honor to represent our community by playing this sport and having the town embrace this team, too."