One wouldn't expect in the matchup of #2 Hamilton and #3 Perry volleyball teams the outcome would be domination by one over the other.

It happened a little more than three weeks ago with Hamilton sweeping Perry, 3-0. The rematch of 6A Premier Region rivals took place Thursday and Perry settled the score with a 3-0 sweep of its own. In the aggregate one could say they are evenly matched (3-3).

Perry' steady play rarely wavered in dealing host Hamilton a 25-18, 25-21, 25-16 defeat. The victory means Perry (13-1 power-ranking matches, 6-1 region) has forged a tie for the region lead with defending 6A champ Hamilton (12-2, 6-1) with three region matches remaining. Hamilton defeated Perry in the title match last season.

"We served well and played good overall," Perry coach Fred Mann said. "Our blocking was much better than the first time. We just played a lot better this time."

Perry trailed only once in the opening set and pulled away after Hamilton drew within 14-13. Perry made few miscues to the finish of the set with only one hitting error. Two kills from Layla Handley, one each from Avery Burks and Adi Galvanoni and two Puma blocks highlighted the close out. Hamilton endured a couple of hitting errors and a service error in the same stretch.

The second set saw Perry trail up to the 12-point mark, taking a 12-11 lead on a Burks' kill. The Pumas led the rest of the set and by as many as four. A kill and block by McKenna Dressel helped maintain the lead and a Galvanoni kill brought on the third set.

That third set was Perry's best. They built a 15-9 lead and the margin never dipped below four the rest of the way. The Pumas scored five of the their final eight points on their own. Two kills each by Burks and Handley plus a a Handley ace.

Hamilton's loss was only its second in power-ranking matches and its first since opening night when the Huskies bowed to #1 Sandra Day O'Connor in five sets. Hamilton had its 12-match winning streak in power-ranking matches end with the defeat. All 12 of those wins were 3-0 sweeps.

"We'd been rolling, rolling, rolling," Hamilton coach Sharon Vanis said. "Maybe it's a wakeup call. We didn't play as well as we have, but they were much better than the first time."

Perry's stat leaders in kills were Burks (19) and Handley (10) to go with two aces. Setter Reagan Reynolds posted 22 assists. Defensively libero Jordan Suan led in digs with 21 and Dressel contributed four blocks.

Hamilton's kills leader was the team leader for the season - Jordan Middleton. Middleton had 14 and Micah Gryniewicz added eight. Setter Melia Barlow was busy with 32 assists. Defensively Tatum Thomas collected 17 digs and Gryniewicz and Ella Butler chipped in with three blocks apiece.