by Derek Toney

New attitude. New uniforms. Same destination for St. Paul's School girls' volleyball team.

The Gators gained another berth in the IAAM A Conference title game, sweeping Mount de Sales Academy, 26-24, 25-16, 25-6, in a semifinal Wednesday afternoon in Brooklandville. For the fifth time in the last six seasons, St. Paul's is one of two teams left standing for an opportunity at the IAAM championship glass bowl.

They'll have a familiar partner at the finals' dance, Saturday evening at Villa Julie College, in Archbishop Spalding. The defending champion Cavaliers eliminated St. Vincent Pallotti in straight sets Wednesday afternoon in Severn. Last year, Spalding denied the Gators a second straight championship with an epic five-game decision.

With the memory of last year's finals' and a loss to the Cavaliers a couple of weeks ago for the regular season crown, St. Paul's (18-1) amped its effort against Mount de Sales, which handed Spalding its only league setback. Wearing new black uniforms, Gators' coach Kelli Wilkinson said her squad was different from the one that had a lackluster practice Tuesday afternoon.

"Like when the Ravens wear their black uniforms and they get pumped up," said Wilkinson. "They [St. Paul's] were really pumped up, and Mount de Sales is a very talkative team, I generally have a very quiet team. My big talk was don't let them act like this is their home court."

"It gave us a different feel," said Gators' junior Bailey Webster of the uniforms which featured green numbers and names on the back. "It was great, I'm so glad we got them."

No matter the uniform, Webster was again the dominant player on the floor. The six foot, four inch hitter had 23 kills, five blocks and went 12 for 12 serving. Jillian Unitas added six kills and two aces for the Gators, and Bailey Griswold had seven kills, two aces and a block.

After outlasting the Sailors in the opening game, St. Paul's rolled through the final two games including racing out to a 18-3 advantage in game three. The normally reserved Gators realize the postseason is a totally different atmosphere.

"As a team, we don't scream all over the place. We know to perform our best individually, then perform as a team," said Webster. "Our last biggest game, we weren't all pumped up so we're like let's try something new."

"It's their personality. We talked a lot about being a whole team because we don't have the one crazy cheerleader, everyone's got to be up and support each other," said Wilkinson. "It's about not getting our heads down."

Wilkinson said St. Paul's has also made a recommittment to defense. After losing in four games to Spalding Oct. 19, the Gators knew they

"We realized we're not invisible and that we have work to do," said Wilkinson. "Heart goes a long long way in this game, not just talent. It's heart, fire and want to win. That's why I'm so proud about tonight. We're not a rah rah team and they wanted it so bad. If you combine desire with the talent that we have, it's a great combination."

Mount de Sales coach Kenny Mills watched the lack of serve-receive in the third game and a determined St. Paul's equaled the end of the Sailors' championship hopes. Katy Buck had 10 kills for Mount de Sales (14-2), and Hannah Schmidt contributed four kills.

"For some reason, we couldn't get things to happen," said Mills, whose team lost in four games to the Gators in the regular season. "They were hitting better than I've ever seen."

St. Paul's will look to carry that momentum to the title game Saturday night at 7 p.m. Last year, the Gators were a point away in the fourth game from repeating as champions before Spalding rallied.

"It's awesome and they've worked so hard. If we played like we did today, I think we'll come out on top," said Wilkinson. "We just need that consistency and believing in ourselves."

"I'm not going to get over it until we come back and beat them," said Webster. "They're a very good team and we are too. We need to show up and be relaxed. We're in the championship game for a reason."