A perfect season. A championship three-peat. History.

That's what the Shakopee volleyball team accomplished Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center. The Sabers defeated Wayzata 3-1 and captured the Class 3A title behind the thunderous right arm of outside hitter Ashley Wittman and a cast of teammates who might comprise the best volleyball squad seen in Minnesota since, well, when?

"They're a great team," Wayzata coach Scott Jackson said. "I've been doing this for 13 years and I can't remember a better one, honestly."

The scores were 25-8, 24-26, 25-8, 25-14, but give third-seeded Wayzata (24-9) credit. The Trojans were able to win a game against Shakopee, something only two other teams did all season. The Sabers finished with a 32-0 record in capturing their third consecutive crown.

Shakopee is the first team to win three consecutive big-school titles since volleyball went from two classes to three in 1999. Under the two-class format, Armstrong won five in a row from 1980 through 1984.

As usual, Wittman was the linchpin for Shakopee. Opponents know they have to make a move while the 6-1, Gophers-bound senior is in the back row, because when she's at the net, she drops the hammer on everybody.

She had 34 kills, 19 digs and three ace serves, all team highs.

"She's brought us along," Sabers coach Matt Busch said. "This is her fourth year and she had an instant impact on our program, even as a freshman. She does it all. She's not exactly a loud person but she brings it physically and this year she kind of brought the voice as well."

Said Wittman: "It does feel different because it's my last year, I'm done playing with these girls and it's great to go out with a bang."

Shakopee's Megan Westlund had 24 assists and Amelia Yager had 18, and Emily Schroers, Mollie Geske and Elizabeth Benusa had between 13 and 17 digs. Jessica Kegel led Wayzata with 10 kills, Julia Doyle had 29 assists and Kelsey Durocher had 20 digs.

The only real drama came in the second game when Wayzata never let Shakopee put together a run. With Wittman in the back row, Wayzata used a 5-0 burst to take an 18-16 lead; the score was tied at 20, 21 and 22 before Wayzata went ahead 24-22. A Wittman kill and Wayzata error made it 24-24 as Wittman returned to the back row. A kill by Kegel and a Sabers error gave the Trojans the second-game victory.

"They're too good of a team to sit back and assume they're not going to do something," Busch said. "I guess we sat back and decided to let them back into the game."

But not for long.

"I can't believe it," Wittman said. "I'm still in awe."