BARBERTON - Dalton coach Amanda Clear didn't have to say much to her team after taking an early timeout in the third set.

Pitted against Wayne County Athletic League rival Hillsdale in a Division VI regional championship on Saturday afternoon at Barberton High School, the Bulldogs found themselves in a 9-0 hole after the Falcons evened the match taking the second set.

"They needed to make a choice," Clear said. "We’re fighting to go to the state championship, I don’t feel like we needed much more motivation than that.

"On the court after that timeout, they were like — this is what we’re going to do. Yeah, it was a timeout, but it was also them taking initiative and them taking responsibility and saying — we’re going to change this."

Just when it seemed like Hillsdale had the momentum, Dalton settled in and proceeded to go on a 25-11 run to steal away the third and take a 2-1 lead in the match. And despite dropping the fourth, the Bulldogs remained composed and won the match in the fifth — 25-25, 22-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12 — for the program's third regional championship in the last decade.

"These girls have played volleyball a long time, they’ve played together a long time," Clear said. "This has been a goal of theirs for a long time, so they knew what they needed to do to get it. We talk a lot about just being aggressive – that is our game and that is these girls, just taking advantage of how aggressive we are.

"We talked about us being in this game before and Hillsdale had not, so using that to our advantage. A lot of the girls that are on this team played in this game last year. And while you have nerves, you also know what the game is gonna be; (Hillsdale) hadn’t had that."

For the the Falcons, bouncing back from a devastating loss in the third was huge and gave them the opportunity to try and avenge a pair of regular season losses to Dalton.

"(We had to have) like a goldfish mentality, like, we cannot continue to dwell on that, we had to move forward ... we had to win game four in order to go to game five," Hillsdale coach Matti Willeke said. "It’s a little bit more dramatic (facing Dalton). I feel like (taking a lead), you’re just elated, then the closer they get it wobbles us a little bit more than other teams, just because the creep is feeling a little bit more pressure.

"When they got a little bit close, we wobbled a little bit more because they're so consistent and make good adjustments."

Unfortunately, they just came up short again. When these teams last met almost exactly a month ago, it was another five-set thriller with the Bulldogs taking the fifth 18-16.

"In Game 5, they switched their rotation up and I think it threw us off just a smidge when (Sara Geibel) was in the back row," Willeke said. "(Mei Simmons) blocked (Jillian Cowger) just a little bit more, or at least got a couple more touches on Jill. We had adjusted to their first lineup, but we didn't adjust well to that second lineup in the fifth game."

It proved to be a decisive adjustment for the Bulldogs; Cowger finished with a match-high 25 kills and four solo blocks. Kiki McFadden added 14 kills and 22 digs, Jordyn Fickes 11 kills. Sophomore Emily Smith broke her own single-game assists record with 51.

"(McFadden and Cowger) are fantastic players and I’m sure they’re going to miss them (next year)," Clear said. "When Jillian gets the ball, it’s probably gonna be a kill ... Kiki is the same way. When one is in the back row and one's in the front row, they still have a great attack."

It marked the end of the careers of Cowger, McFadden, Jordyn and Joslyn Fickes, Clair Brightbill, and Gracie Bishop who were instrumental in getting the program what it is today. When they were in eighth grade the Falcons won one match, now they likely set a program-record and delivered just the second regional runner-up in program history.

"What they have done and how they have grown in the last four years is remarkable," Willeke said. "As freshmen, to win seven ... (and) then now to be 21-6, that’s a testament to the dedication they have to volleyball and the love they have for it.

"That’s going to be a huge bridge to cover because they all play and they’re solid players. But the girls that are underneath them have been practicing against them and playing against them, so they know the standard and the competitive level that they have held."

And that new standard hasn't gone unnoticed outside of Jeromesville, either.

"If you would have told me five years ago that we would be playing Hillsdale in the regional finals, I never would have believed you," Clear said. "When we used to go there or they would come to us, it wasn’t a game at all; practice was better. They have put out a phenomenal team ... Matti’s done a fantastic job with that program."

Fifth-ranked Dalton advances to play No. 11 Sugarcreek Garaway — a state-tournament debutant — on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Wittenberg University. The Bulldogs had finished as regional runner-up each of the last two years. Now Clear, 13 seasons into leading her alma mater, will look to get the program to its first ever state title match led by a senior class now 75-6 over the last three seasons.