SAN MARCOS -- The excellent serve receiving that was there for Caldwell at regionals went walk-about during the state tournament, forcing the Lady Hornets to head home one day and two victories shy of the championship they sought.

Top-ranked Lucas Lovejoy ended Caldwell's season with a 25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 25-23 win in the Class 3A semifinals at the UIL state volleyball tournament in Strahan Coliseum on Friday afternoon.

Caldwell, which reached the state tourney for the first time in five years, finished at 29-15.

"Since these kids were in Little Diggers, one of their goals has been to get to the state tournament," Caldwell coach Jane Anne Giese said. "For them to get back here was a huge, huge accomplishment."

Lovejoy pulled off a remarkable feat by making the state final in its second year of varsity competition. The Lady Leopards, who do not have a senior, will take a 39-5 record into Saturday's championship match against Brownwood, which won the second semifinal over Bellville in four games.

The Lady Leopards capitalized on Caldwell's passing problems to bang out 67 kills compared to just 32 for the Lady Hornets. Four Lovejoy players reached double figures in kills.

"Lovejoy is an excellent team with incredible players, but we definitely had the weapons to match them," Giese said. "Our serve receive did not allow us to use our weapons."

Caldwell had enough ammunition to take the second game and threaten to win Game 3. The Lady Hornets were within 16-14 before Lovejoy took off on a 9-1 finishing run. Andie Malloy had four kills during the spurt, including a couple she nailed when Caldwell's service receptions floated across the net instead of going to setter Kelsey Alford.

"We were fighting and fighting with our defense, but they got us in the end because we weren't able to have the passing to be able to put the ball down," Alford said.

The Lady Hornets never led Game 4, but they scored five consecutive points to pull within 17-15 on a kill by Alford. Senior outside hitter April Howell delivered a couple of kills that brought Caldwell within a point, but Courtney Ray and Lauren McDaniel finished the match with kills for Lovejoy.

"They had a chance to rattle us and go to Game 5," Lovejoy coach Ryan Mitchell said. "I was really proud of the girls for keeping their composure."

Howell finished her career in style, contributing 14 kills and 14 digs. Kim Crnkovic added six kills, while Brianna Haynes had five kills and a couple of blocks. Alford dished out 26 assists, many while on the run, and libero Callee Norman made 21 digs.

"We were having trouble shutting down April Howell," Mitchell said. "She played a great game. We just didn't have an answer for her."

McDaniel, a 5-foot-9 junior who is a great jumper, led Lovejoy with 19 kills. Natalie Puckett added 18 and Malloy had 15.