Lakeville South is a volleyball team with over 30 wins this season. The Cougars entered the Class 4A high school state tournament this week as the No. 1 seed. They have been excellent all fall.

And only now does coach Stephen Willingham feel his team is truly performing to the best of their abilities.

What a terrifying thought for opponents.

But his theory was backed up with plenty of evidence in Thursday’s state tournament semifinal, won 25-17, 25-17, 25-11 by Lakeville South over fifth-seeded Roseville at Xcel Energy Center.

The Cougars will face Champlin Park for the state title at 7 p.m. Saturday in downtown St. Paul in what will be the perennial power’s first appearance in a championship game.

“We played our best volleyball of the season against a really good team,” Willingham said, “so I feel good about the mental space our team is in right now. “It seems like we are peaking.”

That was particularly true in the third set, when the Cougars hit .415. Romi Chlebecek finished with 18 kills to pace Lakeville South (31-2), but overall it was a balanced performance for the Cougars.

That’s the magic of these Cougars, they are as deep a team as you’ll find at the high school level. They can attack you from any area of ​​the pitch and are seemingly constantly in the system thanks to their first touch excellence.

Lakeville South’s confidence has increased since tearing down Champlin Park in mid-October. Everything has fallen into place from there. The Cougars are deep, skilled and close to each other.

And defensively, they held Roseville to just .041 hitting, totaling 65 digs, four blocks and zero serving and receiving errors. Josei Tingelhoff led the way with 21 service receptions and 20 kills. Roseville coach Greg Ueland noted that there were a number of balls the Raiders hit that one would expect would end in points that were inevitably dug up by the Cougars.

“A credit to Lakeville South. They’re the No. 1 team for a reason,” Ueland said. “Incredible athletes. “They showed up and played very well today.”

But Ueland said he was proud of his team’s fight. Trailing 14-4 in the second set, Roseville rallied to within 24-23 before Lakeville South finally closed out the set.

“We fought back and that was like our volleyball,” Roseville junior Leah Biyadglin said. “We show ourselves how we usually play. And that was super fun. We were competing back and forth and it was great volleyball. I just think knowing that we can compete with a team like that that’s really skilled, it’s like, ‘What if?’, but we also know that we’re a good team.”

Roseville (27-6) will face East Ridge in the third-place game on Saturday. Even when the Raiders made their effort, it didn’t surprise Willingham that his team responded. He called the Cougars “well experienced” and noted they had to win the fifth set of their section final match against rival Lakeville North 20-18.

“They have a good understanding of what it takes to play when everything is on the line, like hitting a crescendo at the perfect moment.

“I think now would be our peak,” Lakeville South senior Aubrie Portinga said. “Everyone is healthy at the right time, we’re finally clicking at the right time and the team dynamic is really good right now.”