GORHAM — Gorham High’s volleyball team can beat opponents with its hitting prowess, but it was a superb defensive play that turned momentum and led to a straight-sets victory for the second-seeded Rams in a Class A semifinal Wednesday night against 10th-seeded Cheverus.

Already ahead 21-13 in the second set as they tried to even the match, the Stags appeared to serve up an ace, but Rams senior Vanessa Walker soared to keep the ball alive near the back wall and junior Addyson Simcock turned it into a point for Gorham.

The reigning state champions won 36 of the next 46 points to finish off a 25-10, 25-22, 25-9 win. The victory sends Gorham (12-4) back to the state final at 4 p.m. Saturday against top-seeded Biddeford (15-1) at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.

“We talk a lot about having the grit to keep the ball off the floor, and when you have kids who are willing to set the precedent that that’s who we are, it creates a domino effect,” said Rams Coach Emma Tirrell.

Cheverus held a 5-4 lead early in the first set, but Gorham won the next point, then Ava DeVinney served nine straight points to give the Rams a commanding lead. The Stags pulled within 17-10, but a long service run from Natalie Smith, capped by a DeVinney kill closed out the set.

Cheverus raced to leads of 4-0, 7-1 and 13-4 in the second set, and when Isla Willis produced a no-look kill, it was 21-13. But the match turned for good on the next point.

“I was just fed up with losing point after point and I felt like we needed a change and I just went after it,” said Walker. “I realized if I dove, I wouldn’t hit the wall, so I just went for it. I was on the ground and didn’t even see (Addyson hit it over). All my teammates ran over to me and were so happy for me.”

The Rams rattled off 10 straight points, nine with DeVinney serving, then capped the set on a kill from Haley Vickery to put the Stags on the ropes.

“The name of the game is momentum,” said first-year Cheverus Coach Gary Powers. “One play can change a game.”

The Stags couldn’t respond in the third set. Gorham won the first five points, with a couple aces from Simcock, and after the Stags pulled within 10-7, the Rams got a long service run from Lauren Dunbar to make it 17-7. Two aces from Smith put Gorham on the brink, and Walker fittingly ended it with a kill.

The Rams got eight kills from Dunbar, five from Walker, and 20 assists from Liana Edwards.

Gorham, which advanced to its third straight state final, was the only team to beat Biddeford during the regular season.

“I’m so excited for states,” Walker said. “We want to win again so badly. We worked so hard to rebuild our team after losing nine seniors last year.”

Cheverus, which got five kills and four blocks from Mary Hackleman and five kills and three blocks from freshman Frida Gray, got the first piece of hardware in program history as a semifinalist and expects to make another run next fall.

“We have good kids who will be back next year and I’m looking forward to that,” Powers said.