On the brink of claiming its first-ever Section III Class D championship, the Hamilton girls volleyball team saw the crown go somewhere else. Unable to generate any momentum in Saturday’s championship match at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, the no. 3 seed Emerald Knights lost in three games to top seed Oppenheim-Ephratah, who ironically got its first sectional title in the process. Experience may have played a big role in this match, in that O-E carried five seniors on its roster, while Hamilton did not have one. With consistent play on both the front and back lines, the Hawks took the opening game 25-18. Hamilton’s best chance to get back in it came in the second game, a close affair where O-E still pulled it out 25-22, going on to take the third game 25-15. Though she wasn’t on the court for a long time, Tiffany Jones-Maxwell still had enough time to pound out 12 kills and 10 digs, as front-line mate Samantha Martin added eight kills. Valaya Lalonde had six assists and Kaitlin Askew five assists, with Alison Hansen picking up seven digs. The Emerald Knights earned this trip to the title match by taking out no. 2 seed Belleville-Henderson in four games during last Tuesday night’s Class D semifinal at Sandy Creek High School. They split the first two games, as Hamilton prevailed 25-21 in the opener and Belleville took the second game 25-20. But when the Emerald Knights claimed the third game 25-20, it seized the momentum for good, also taking the fourth game 25-18 to earn its title shot. Jones-Maxwell put together 28 kills and 16 digs, while Martin earned 14 kills and nine digs. Splitting the back-line duties, Lalonde and Askew each had 16 assists, with Askew also serving up four aces. Rachel Holcomb added seven digs. While this was going on, O-E was fighting hard against Living Word Academy in its semifinal, needing the maximum five games to advance after once owning a 2-0 lead. As it turned out, that would be the Hawks’ biggest hurdle, for it handled Hamilton and left the Emerald Knights with a finishing mark of 18-6. The fact that everyone — Jones-Maxwell, Lalonde, Askew, Martin, Holcomb, Hansen — are back next season could bode quite well for pursuing that elusive first championship.