WATERVILLE — Cheers erupted from a large section of blue-and-white-clad tennis fans before the final volley bounced twice.

Courtney Aldrich and Paige LeBlond hugged, both sporting smiles as wide as their faces could handle. That point, that match victory, wasn’t technically the final match point the Blue Devils needed on this day.

But it was the one that ultimately made the difference.

Lewiston fell in its previous three encounters with Brunswick, all by a one-match margin.

The Blue Devils, thanks in large part to Aldrich and LeBlond, turned the tables in the teams’ fourth meeting of the season, eking out a 3-2 victory over the Dragons at Colby College on Wednesday morning to return to the state final for a try at a sixth consecutive crown.

Lewiston will face Scarborough in Saturday’s Class A state title match at Colby College at 10 a.m.

“We were really close all year,” Lewiston coach Anita Murphy said. “It was 3-2 each time, and KVACs, we had them on the ropes. But it gave them something to look at and say, ‘We can do this.’ I tried to encourage them to believe in themselves.”

The strong Lewiston High School contingent erupted as the second-doubles duo rallied in the second set from 30-40 down at 0-2 and continued fighting, gaining a one-game edge each time, but never pulling away — until the final game.

“Our main thing was, it’s hot out, we’re tired, we definitely didn’t want to go to a third set,” LeBlond said.

“The other times we played them, we went to a third set and lost, so we didn’t want to go that far again,” Aldrich added.

In three previous matches against Brunswick, the Devils’ second-doubles duo lost to the Dragons’ Sara Freshly and Laura Pratt. The most recent defeat in the KVAC championship was heartbreaking for Aldrich and LeBlond, who lost in three sets after taking a 5-3 lead in the second set with another set win already in hand.

This time, they were ready.

“Last time we played them, even though we didn’t have to beat them to get to states, we were still nervous,” Aldrich said. “We talked about it before the match (Wednesday), and we knew we just needed to stay relaxed.”

As expected, Brunswick’s top player, Maisie Silverman, earned her team’s first point with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Jessica Bowen at No. 1 singles. Silverman was this year’s MPA singles tourney runner-up.

Lewiston’s No. 3 singles player, Becca Lessard, answered with a 6-0, 6-3 victory in her match against Willa Purcell.

“I call (Lessard) a spitfire,” Murphy said. “She’s just always going after everything, and she won’t give up on anything.”

With Brunswick’s stellar sisters Erin and Shannon Kenyon playing at No. 1 doubles, the swing points became second doubles and Abby Blaisdell at No. 2 singles. Shortly after Aldrich and LeBlond won their match, Blaisdell capped a long fight with Rachel Gross with a 6-2, 6-1 win, putting Lewiston over the top.

“She’s so easy-going. She’s been the smoothest kid on the court,” Murphy said.

The Kenyons battled back from a deficit in the second set to ultimately take out Lewiston’s top duo of Brittany Martin and Kirsty Beauchesne, 6-4, 6-4, in a spirited, back-and-forth tussle.

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