Suffering its first loss of the season in the district final last week turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Tekoa-Oaksdale.

Although the defeat forced the Nighthawks to run a daunting gauntlet in the Class 1B state volleyball tournament, it also meant that they weren't going to underestimate their foe in Saturday's final.

That's because Tekoa-Oaksdale earned a rematch with Colton -- the team that beat them in that district final.

"That (loss) really helped us. We asked the girls last week, would you rather lose to them in the district final or the state final?" Nighthawks coach Brandy Brown said moments after her team dispatched Colton 25-16, 25-13, 15-25, 25-23 in the SunDome to claim their fourth state title and first since 2007.

And to say Tekoa-Oaksdale earned this title is something of an understatement.

The Nighthawks opened against defending champion Almira/Coulee-Hartline, met Moses Lake Christian, last year's fourth-place finisher, in the quarterfinals, and then had to get past last year's state runner-up Christian Faith in the semifinals.

"That was scary big-time, but we just went out and played our hardest," said sophomore outside hitter Cassandra Mendoza, who had a team-best 20 kills and five aces against Colton. "We just tried to stay positive the whole time."

"We had a had a hard road but we just told the girls to play hard and have fun," said Brown, who gave credit to senior setter Kaela Dewan for being a steadying influencce on her young squad.

Dewan capped her career with 28 assists and 16 digs against Colton, while sophomore hitter Eden Anderson added 16 kills and 16 blocks.

"We earned every single point," Brown said.

Tekoa-Oaksdale's day began with a 25-18, 21-25, 25-10, 24-26, 15-12 victory over Christian Faith, while Colton dispatched Seton Catholic 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 in the other semifinal.

In the final, the Nighthawks easily won the first two games, but Colton found its footing in the third game, building leads of 22-9 and 24-11 before closing it out.

The fourth game was back-and-forth, with Colton eventually taking a 23-21 lead before Tekoa-Oaksdale ripped off the final four points, the last coming on a booming kill by Mendoza, to claim the title.

"Our motto is 'get in beast mode,' and that's what we did tonight," Mendoza said.