"You have to have talent, to begin with," said Harris, who just wrapped up his 17th year at the Helias helm. "Then, you try to mold them into what you'd like them to do as a team. We stress team goals over individual --- everybody's role is (equally) important. We would not have won the state championship without our role players.

"They all have to be dedicated and committed. A lot of people give lip service to goals, but now they know you can set goals, you can make sacrifices, you can be disciplined, and you can achieve those goals. If they can apply that to other areas of their life, then they're going to be very successful young ladies."

These girls have already proven they're champions beyond the volleyball court.

"This group may be better off the court than they are on the court --- and they're very good on the court, obviously," Harris said. "In the spring semester, their combined GPA was 3.9, so they're very good students. Several of them are on the student council, most are involved in other extracurricular activities, and they volunteer in the community."

Last but certainly not least ...

"They're hilarious," Harris said. "They make an old coach want to go to practice, because they just make it so enjoyable to work with them."

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WHAT AN ENJOYABLE, FUN RIDE THIS WAS, concluding with Saturday's title match in Cape Girardeau when the Lady Crusaders got past Lutheran South 25-17, 23-25, 25-15.

This figured to be a tight battle, and it was, after the teams split two sets in Friday's round-robin semifinals. What were the lessons learned?

"We knew they were going to be very good defensively," Harris said, "but they surprised me a little bit with how well they blocked. They still blocked us well, at times, on Saturday. But we tried to key on a couple of individuals to serve to ... we had a plan going into Friday, but they changed who was passing.

"So we had a little bit better game plan on Saturday, and we knew what areas to attack on the floor a little better. Then, we wanted to get our middle hitters a little more involved, and they came through, big."

With the state championship on the line prior to the third set, did Harris have offer any magic words?

"They pretty much had it figured out; they took my speech away from me," Harris said. "We have some really good leaders on this team, and they were pumping everybody up and talking about what was open and what was working."

It worked, indeed, as the third set was a 10-point blowout --- a special effort to end a very special season.

Simply the best.

"I knew at the end of last season that we were going to be really good (this season). We all thought we should have been there (in the Final Four) last year, but Rogersville," Harris said with a smile, "just didn't cooperate."

Don't you hate when that happens?

"I know," Harris said of that setback, "they should have been more intimidated."

Harris knew they would be good. Then over the summer, he felt this team could reach that championship level after they won five of six high-caliber tournaments. And they did it without --- at any point --- having their full team together due to vacations, injuries, etc.

"I knew if we could get everybody healthy at the same time," Harris said, "that we had a chance to have a pretty special season."

The big one on the road to Cape Girardeau was the quarterfinal rematch with Logan-Rogersville in Aurora on Oct. 21.

"Our girls had been looking forward to that match for a full year, and they were ready," Harris said. "Even after we lost the first set, the leadership took over and you could see it in their eyes --- they were not going to experience that heartache again.

"They came out those next two sets and played lights out. Especially in the third set ... I don't think Rogersville knew what hit them. We just played fantastic."

The leadership on this team --- which ended the year 34-4-2 --- was something to behold, Harris said, starting with senior captain Regan Bruns

"She sets the tone," Harris said. "But just because she's the captain, that doesn't mean she's our only leader."

It also went beyond the team's other seniors, Erin Wyrick, Bradi Berhorst, Hannah Borchelt and Kelsey Brester, and exceptional junior Ellie Rockers.

"Even the girls on the bench were helping, Harris said. "They were communicating, they were telling the hitters what was open, they were telling the defense where the hitters from the other team liked to hit, so we were getting a lot of leadership and communication from everyone."

On a team loaded with talented leaders, none were more so than the 5-10 Rockers.

"I first saw her as a fifth-grader," Harris said. "They didn't believe me back then, but I was telling people that she could be the best player to ever come through Helias. That says a lot."

And now?

"She is definitely in the conversation," Harris said. "She's a special player, a special young lady. She is so unselfish ... she gets so excited when other people do well, because she's a total team player."

Of Helias' four losses this season, two were to Class 4 state champion St. Joe's Academy, and the others were to teams (Lafayette-Wildwood, Cor Jesu) who were eliminated by St. Joe's in the postseason.

In addition, one of Helias' ties was with Ozark, which was defeated by St. Joe's in the state title match. That's what you would call a quality tie, and those were what you would call four quality losses.

"We played a really tough schedule," Harris said. "We did that on purpose, so we'd be ready for those tough situations. It paid off."

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IT'S TIME TO HANG ANOTHER BANNER, this one on the heels of the undefeated 2014 championship season. Which begs the question: If the two teams played --- and they're just as they were in high school, courtesy of the Helias Time Machine --- who wins?

"That's like asking me if I love my son or my daughter more," Harris said. "But I'll tell you what, it would be a heck of a match."

And this was a heck of a season. Remember, Harris said he knew this year's team would be very good at the end of the 2016 season. So what about 2018?

"We're very optimistic," he said. "But the longer I do this, the more I realize how tough it is to get to the Final Four. Then once you get there, how tough it is to win it.

"But I think with another good offseason," Harris concluded, "we'll be in the discussion."

You can bet your lucky shirt on it.

Photo courtesy of @stmartinjc