Desert Vista started slow, but finished brandishing the kind of volleyball that comes with being a repeat-state champion.

Desert Vista's marathon win in the second game Tuesday night set the stage for three straight wins and a Thunder repeat as Division I champs before a packed, enthusiastic crowd at Mesquite High School. Scores of Desert Vista's second successive crown were 18-25, 32-30, 25-20 and 25-14.

Desert Vista finished the 2015 season 41-3 and won its final 19 matches. Its last loss was the first weekend of October in the Nike TOC Invitational in Phoenix. Xavier (34-8) gradually succumbed to Desert Vista after nearly going up two sets to none. Once the Thunder snared the second set, it righted a ship that was a little off course.

"Xavier played well early," Desert Vista coach Molly West said. "We were so tight the first set. It was big taking the second set. It was hard and tough to battle through it, but we started to play more like we're capable after that."

Desert Vista had to dig deeper in some ways Tuesday to win its second consecutive title. Desert Vista had to go five sets to beat Hamilton last year, but this one had more of an uphill-climb to it, according to senior outside Hailey Harward.

"We seemed to have to fight hard to get to the way we normally play" Harward said. "I didn't feel we were playing the way we could until the end of the fourth set."

 Xavier bopped Desert Vista in the first set and the teams traded brief three-point leads in the second set. Desert Vista was up 23-21 in the second, but found itself facing the first of five set points three points later. Desert Vista had a couple set points of its own, but it wasn't until middle blocker Rachael Kramer's kill, a net violation on Xavier and a hitting error by Xavier standout Khalia Lanier put the Thunder even at 1a set apiece.

Desert Vista played from behind early in the third set and finally pulled even at 15. Harward and junior outside Hailey Dirrigl got hot on the attack and the Thunder opened a five-point lead that lasted to the set's end.

Xavier got 12 kills in the third set from Lanier, who seemed to be laboring a bit in the fourth set taking so many swings in the first three. Lanier had 26 kills in the first three sets and finished with 32. Lanier also had 32 kills in the semifinal win over Gilbert. She's headed to USC next fall.

"Khalia has been a fantastic four-year player representing Xavier and Arizona in all he best ways," Xavier coach Lamar-Renee Bryant said. "She has to one of the most, if not the most decorated players here and nationally."

The final set was tied early for the final time at 6. From there Desert Vista was awesome. The Thunder posted 13 kills among their final 19 points with Dirrigl and Harward contributing four each and Kramer and Olivia Fairchild adding two each. Desert Vista's final five points were kills with Kramer's sending her teammates to group celebration at their service line. Dirrigl and Harward finished with 19 kills apiece, Fairchild totaled 12 and Kramer seven. Harward made it a double-double with 22 digs and libero Kendall Glover was exceptional with a team-high 33 digs.

"The second set was the determing factor," Bryant said. "It was a back and forth game. Hats off to Desert Vista. Their seniors were strong. They earned it.

"When we got to the fourth set, well, that was catastrophic for us."

Desert Vista wasn't far off from posting a perfect season. It won two of the three invitationals entered (Westwood TOC and the Nfiniity SoCal Invite in San Diego. The Thunder finished third in the elite division of a third, the Nike TOC, the best finish of any Arizona team. Their loss in that tourney was to eventual champion Jesuit High (Portland, Ore.), who went unbeaten and one its division title in Oregon. Its other two losses were to Gilbert and Sunnyslope in power-ranking contests in September.