COLORADO SPRINGS — Fleming and Merino have always been formidable opponents, often exchanging blows throughout the regular season and beyond.

It came as no surprise when the two met up with one another once again on Colorado's biggest stage of the Broadmoor World Arena for the biggest match of the season — the Class 1A state title match on Saturday night. The matchup looked exactly the same as it did months earlier, when the two went head-to-head for the 2021 Season C state championship.

And, just like last time, Merino came out on to claim their second consecutive state crown with a 3-1 final. The match started out as one might expect, with an ultra-competitive first set that ended 25-21 in Merino's favor.

After that, the Rams found their stride as they decimated the Wildcats in set two with a 25-9 final. The Wildcats, however, weren't ready to go down without a fight. They stormed back to steal the third set with a 25-18 decision.

"We love to play Merino," head coach Megan Chintala said. "They're a good team and we get better every time. It's always a challenge when we come up against them and we just fell short this time."

The Rams won in the end with a 25-18 final, but that can't take away from the phenomenal run this Fleming program has been nearly two decades putting together. This season alone, they finished with a 23-6 record.

"It's been pretty amazing," senior Whitney Chintala said. "Sixteen years in a row, our school has made it (to state) and then for my high school career, I made it all four years and been in the championship twice. It's pretty sweet to do that."

With the fall season behind them now, the Wildcats will look to the future of the program. They can mark off the first season under a new head coach as a major success and hope it can only get better from here.

It doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of room left to grow.

"We just have three seniors that are leaving us," Megan Chintala said. "They're pretty key players and we'll miss them, but we've got a big freshman class coming in and we're ready. We're ready to put them in places that we need filled and we're excited and ready to move forward."