KISSIMMEE -- Winter Park is, yet again, the class of Orlando volleyball.

The Wildcats, led by Purdue commit Christina Ambrose's game-high 28 kills, held off Lake Mary, their neighbor from 14 miles down the road, in four sets to win the Class 8A state championship at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.

It was Winter Park's (29-3) fourth state title in school history, ending a 7-year drought. They won it all in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

It was a four-set, heart-throbbing, heavyweight fight for the 8A crown, and Wildcats head coach Stephanie Gibson wouldn't have it any other way.

"We anticipated it," Gibson said. "They have so much heart...we've played each other twice this year and it comes down to execution....major kudos to Lake Mary. I think everyone was treated to a fantastic match."

Senior Brittany Kelly, who had 13 kills, ended it with a rocket slam that hit off a Lake Mary triple block and landed out of bounds.

The Wildcats stormed the court.

Hugs, and tears, ensued.

"Those last few points, my head was already in the clouds," Kelly said. "I don't have any words to describe how that felt. I was just so excited."

In the fourth set, Lake Mary jumped out to an 11-7 lead, aided by three-consecutive Wildcats errors and a service ace. Of course, the Wildcats answered, with Ambrose's string of consecutive kills, helping them tie it at 11. She then had back-to-back aces to open it up, 18-14. They never looked back.

"I had my team behind me, pushing me the entire way...we just all stayed focused and we never let up at the end," said Ambrose, who also had 14 digs and played the match with a fractured finger. "I'm just very proud of my team."

Winter Park, who was making their 7th state finals appearance, denied Lake Mary (27-7) of their first state title, but not without a fight.

"I wanted to go out swinging," Rams second-year head coach Brandon East said. "I wanted to go after them and play our game and play really fast offense and continue to fight. We knew we were up against a lot. I thought our girls handed that well and played very competitive until that third set."

Winter Park got out to a 12-4 lead in the third, with senior and North Carolina commit Beth Nordhorn, who finished with 14 kills, racking up a trio of kills to lead the rally. The Rams answered, cutting it to 14-9 after back-to-back Ambrose errors, but the Wildcats - and Ambrose - found their form. She reeled off three-straight points and the 'Cats pulled away, taking the set 25-12 including a left-leaning kill behind the antenna to set up game point.

Both teams put up a fight in the opening frame. There were 12 ties, the last at 15 all, before sophomore outside hitter Kendall Adams put the Wildcats ahead for good with a kill, 16-15. Ambrose took over from there, reeling off four-straight slams, helping Winter Park take the opener, 25-22. Ambrose hit an astounding .706 in that first frame.

The second set had the same sort of feel to it, at least at the start. Both teams evened the score up eight times, and Ambrose was just as efficient, with three kills in that span. Then, tied at 13, the Rams made their run. Katia Haak, Cydney Bowman and Sara Lounsbury each had a kill to put Lake Mary ahead 16-13, a lead they wouldn't give up, as they closed it out on a 10-2 run. Ambrose was shut down by the Rams defense, held scoreless after the 9-8 mark in the frame.

Haak finished with 13 kills and 10 digs for the Rams, who were making just their second state finals appearance.

"We certainly loved being in the underdog role early," East said, "...but I'm very happy for my team, doing the things we did, the fight."

But tonight belonged to Ambrose, Gibson and the Wildcats, who, once again, are hoisting the hardware.

"This one is pretty special," Gibson said of this title, the sixth of her coaching career. "I had a lot of tears at the end of the match."