​FORT DEFIANCE — Annalee Halterman was all smiles standing in the Don Landes Gym. As the final point played out, she looked to a teammate on the bench and said, “This is peak high school.”Peak indeed. It doesn’t get much better as a high school athlete than to celebrate a championship with teammates and Fort Defiance got to do that Tuesday, Nov. 10 in the Region 2B championship. Fort beat previously unbeaten Madison County 25-12, 25-22, 25-20 for its second straight regional title. “That was one of the greatest feelings of all time,” Halterman said. “This is insane. I’ve never felt this happy in my life.”Fort Defiance will now host a Class 2 state quarterfinal match Nov. 14 against the loser of Amelia or Poquoson. Those two play Nov. 11 in the Region 2A title game.This season has been just as special for senior libero Norah Anderson as last season and the season before as Fort tries to reach the state championship game for a third year in a row. For Anderson, it’s all about the journey and in each of the past three seasons that journey has been with a different cast of teammates.While there are returning players every season, there are also plenty of new faces. This season freshman Maddie Gale has made a huge impact on the team as a setter and hitter. Amelia Good transferred from Highland County and has been a big hitter for Fort Defiance. And middle blocker Harper Carter is a crucial part of this Fort team after sitting out last season.”Just the chance to experience this with new girls, my best friends, honestly, I’m just so excited,” said Anderson. “I cannot wait to keep playing. I don’t want it to be over.”It’s not over yet, although from here on out it’s win-or-go-home games for Fort Defiance. Win three of those and they will be state champions. Caroline Hanger, certainly not a new face for this team, continued to be a force with 12 kills in the win. Gale had 22 assists, five kills, two aces and 10 digs. Anderson finished with 13 digs to lead the team. Alexis Miller had nine assists. The match was delayed by 50 minutes because of traffic issues that kept Madison County’s bus from arriving in time for the scheduled 6 p.m. start. Once the match did start, Fort made short work of the Mountaineers. Madison was close in the second and third sets, but it never felt like Fort was in trouble.”I feel like we played really great defense,” said Fort coach Amber Pitsenbarger. “That was one thing that really kept us in it, was our defense. We were picking up absolutely everything.”Pitsenbarger said getting to host a state quarterfinal match for the second year in a row is special.”It’s huge,” she said. “The girls have worked really, really hard. They definitely deserve it. Our fans were great tonight and I think that really helped us. Just hope everyone shows up for Saturday too.”More: Staunton’s Kevin Hart brings Friends Turned Family home for pop-upMore: Wilson Memorial volleyball earns state berth, chance at regional titlePatrick Hite is a reporter at