The Madison High School volleyball team loaded up a bus on Tuesday afternoon for a 6.5-mile trip to play in a high-stakes match that was draped with hopes, dreams and, for one of the participants, heartbreak.

For senior setter/outside hitter Kaylee Cavazos, her journey to this moment was a little more arduous. It started in July 2022, with her tearing the ACL and meniscus in her left knee at a club tournament, and continued with surgery, a long and painstaking rehabilitation, and a lost season.

Cavazos’ process, in a sense, came full circle on Tuesday when she provided the match-clinching kill in the Mavericks’ 25-22, 25-20, 28-26 win over Johnson in a showdown for District 28-6A’s final playoff berth at Littleton Gym.

“It took a big toll on me, the mental part,” said Cavazos, a St. Mary’s commit who totaled 11 kills, a .429 hitting percentage, and 17 assists, on coming back from the injury. “I just knew coming in, I needed to work extra hard to get my body ready for my team. Their support, honestly, helped me so much coming back. I knew I could do it for my team, and I knew I wanted to do it for my team.”

Johnson (20-22, 10-6) and Madison (32-13, 11-5) met for the second straight year in a win-or-go-home district finale. In 2022, Johnson prevailed in four sets to earn a playoff spot. The outcome was on the minds of the returning Madison players. It showed as the Mavericks rode late surges in all three sets to prevail behind the play of Danielle Marshall (seven kills, two blocks), Deylen Mendivil (six kills, 5 1/2 blocks) and Aubrey Lyssy (16 assists, two blocks and one ace).

“I was crying last year,” said Madison junior outside hitter Zariah McFadden, who had seven kills and two of her team’s 18 blocks. “I remember how much it hurt. I had that feeling in the back of my mind the whole game, and that’s why I made sure we were going to win. We played for our seniors, we played for each other, we played for the seniors last year who didn’t get to go to playoffs. We kept high energy the whole time, we didn’t stop swinging, we stayed aggressive.”

In the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader, Brandeis topped Reagan 25-18, 25-15, 20-25, 25-16 to win an outright 28-6A title.

It was the Broncos’ third league crown in the past four seasons and sixth overall. They also won in 2021, 2020, 2016 and 2011 (shared).

The latest triumph came in a winner-take-all backdrop that was made necessary when Brandeis (31-12, 14-2) lost in five sets to Clark on Oct. 20. Had the Broncos won, they would have earned no worse than a share of the title.

“We wanted this to be our redemption because we know we should have beaten Clark,” Brandeis senior middle blocker Austin Smoak said. “They were a tough team; the game was close. It was a lot at stake winning district.”

Brandeis’ big-stage experience paved the way vs. Reagan (31-12, 13-3). Lola Isaeff, Smoak, Sophia Kuyn and Samantha Valadez — the remaining holdovers who played on the 2021 Class 6A state championship team — combined for 43 kills, 43 assists, 32 digs and eight blocks. Isaeff had a team-best 17 kills, Smoak had 14 and Kuyn tallied 12. Smoak registered four blocks and Kuyn had 2 1/2. Valadez had 43 assists and 13 digs, while senior libero Lola Davila netted 23 digs.

“It definitely is kind of a similar feeling, kind of giving all you have on the court, don’t settle for anything, just keep on pushing with everything you’ve got because you know this is your last moment,” Kuyn said. “We had to stay a little bit more focused because it was a lot bigger deal.”

Reagan battled back after dropping the first two sets to win the third frame and trailed 11-9 midway through the fourth stanza in its bid to force the match to a decisive fifth set. Mya Allen had a match-high 24 kills to pace Reagan. Lauren Garcia had 21 assists, Ady Perez registered 29 digs and Kennedy Crider tied Allen with a team-best two blocks.

Brandeis, though, used a 7-2 to build a seven-point cushion and Reagan got no closer than five points the rest of the way.

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