By FRANK CASH
Herald-Whig Sports Writer

CAMP POINT, Ill. -- The only thing left for the Payson Seymour volleyball team was to get ready for its post-match celebration.

Even with a comfortable lead over A-C Central/Virginia in Game 3 of Thursday night's Class 1A sectional championship, the Lady Indians knew they had to play to the end.

"We had to stay confident and keep playing relaxed," Payson senior Alyssa Smith said. "They were capable of getting back in it, but only if we let down."

Smith made sure Payson won its first sectional title in 20 years. She served 10 straight points late in the final game of a 23-25, 25-13, 25-16 victory.

The Lady Indians, now 35-2 and winners of 21 straight matches, advance to the super-sectional and will play Illini Central at 2 p.m. Saturday at Abingdon. Illini Central (35-5) beat Tremont 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 to win the Lewistown Sectional.

Last year, many of the Payson players sat in the stands at Redbird Arena and watched A-C/Virginia place second in the state tournament. Although the Lady Knights returned several key players, the Lady Indians were undaunted by the task of knocking off the perennial state power.

"They're good but we didn't want to get up caught up thinking they couldn't be beat," Payson senior Alese Speckhart said. "They did a lot at the net that we hadn't seen all year. They were a lot quicker and ran a lot more sets, but we handled that pretty well."

Payson didn't need to rely on A-C/Virginia errors in Game 3. The Lady Indians combined for 18 kills in the final game, including eight from Stephanie Harris, who had 20 in the match.

During Smith's serving run, Payson had eight kills, five of those from Harris.

"We showed up ready to play tonight, especially when the match was on the line," Harris said. "We knew we need to come out and play intense and smart. We couldn't waste any chances."

Although the Lady Indians lost the opener, they rallied from an eight-point deficit to cut the margin to one twice down the stretch.

That might have swung the momentum Payson's way. The Lady Knights (28-11) suffered through a stretch of passing and hitting errors, while the Lady Indians scored six of seven points to take a 14-8 lead.

"We got the jitters out of our system early in the match and we were ready to play," Smith said. "Losing the first game might've helped us more than anything."

Rallying late in the first game also helped.

"I think it gave A-C Central a little more respect for us. They knew that we were capable of coming back and putting something together," Payson coach Rita Speckhart said. "After that game, we came out on fire and intense. There's been a few games when we have played like that, when we've able to take total control."

Especially in the back row where Smith finished with 27 digs and Dakota Flesner and Alese Speckhart had 18 digs apiece. Erin Smith handed out 30 assists for the Lady Indians.

"Tonight, we played like a total team, like we're capable of playing," Rita Speckhart said. "This time of year, everyone has to be on their cylinders, everything has to be clicking. We all came to play.

"During the postseason, we've talked about how every step we've taken is more icing on the cake. Tonight, it feels like triple icing."

-- sports@whig.com/221-3365