Angeletti looked over at Coach Tammy Hosier and the two shared a laugh.

By that point, the pressure was off the Panthers as they were well on the way to their third straight trip to the state Final Four.

The Section VI champions made quick work of Section V champion Cuba-Rushford, dispatching the Rebels, 25-15, 25-19, 25-10, in just over an hour to secure another trip to Glens Falls where they will play for their second state title in the past three seasons next weekend at Cool Insuring Arena.

“We’re making history,” senior Maci Johnson said following the win. ” … It feels great to be a part of it.”

Panama’s Maddie Johnson makes a pass from a difficult spot during Saturday’s match.

“We try not to talk too much about it because we like to go one game at a time, but that was the ultimate goal,” Hosier said of returning to states. “Just to be able to achieve that is unbelievable.”

Panama’s stars showed up — and so did its less-heralded players.

Junior Kylie Schnars led the Panthers with 11 kills and nine blocks; senior Madalyn Bowen had 10 kills and seven digs; and Natalie Angeletti had five kills and six digs.

“We’ve played teams that have one or two really strong attackers and defenders. They have like four or five girls out there who can really put the ball away,” Cuba-Rushford head coach Josh Tompkins said. ” … We didn’t play our typical game, and part of it is because they didn’t let us.”

Junior service specialist Ally Finnerty certainly did her job, coming off the bench to rack up 20 points, including three aces, while sophomore setter Maddie Johnson had 25 assists and 11 points, including three aces.

Panama’s Alexys Marsh (22) goes up for a spike while teammates look on during the NYSPHSAA Class D Far West Regional against Cuba-Rushford on Saturday at LeRoy High School.

“She’s been key. … Just getting the ball over the net, she has filled that role,” Hosier said of Finnerty. “When she first started doing it, she sort of struggled with the back row, but she even had a great dig today.”

Panama jumped out front quickly, leading 6-1 before Cuba-Rushford’s first timeout and extending the lead to 10-1 before the Rebels used a second timeout in the first set.

“I think when we start off with a lead we always keep that gas pedal down,” Bowen said.

Finnerty was on the service line for seven of the points, including a pair of aces. Cuba-Rushford, which entered the match undefeated on the season, settled down from there, but never really threatened and a pair of Bowen kills late helped the Panthers take the 1-0 lead.

Schnars began to take over in the second set. The 5-foot-11 middle had a pair of kills and a block during a four-point stretch that gave Panama a 6-2 advantage, and added another three spikes during the middle portion of the game that helped keep the Rebels at bay.

Panama’s Kylie Schnars blocks a Cuba-Rushford spike attempt during Saturday’s NYSPHSAA Class D Far West Regional at LeRoy High School.

“They block well, they defend well, they pass well. When they can attack, they attack really well. There are not a whole lot of holes in their game,” Tompkins said. “We had some ideas on how to exploit them, and we just didn’t. They won states two years ago and lost in the final last year. They are obviously deserving of that.”

Cuba-Rushford got as close as three points late in the set, but three straight errors helped the Panthers stretch the lead back out to six at 23-17. With Angeletti at the service line, Schnars eventually put the set away with a spike off a Rebels defender.

The beginning of the third set was all Finnerty and Schnars. Finnerty took over service after a Schnars block made it 2-1, and racked up nine straight points. But the highlight of the outburst was a string of five straight blocks and a kill — solely from Schnars — that made it 6-1.

“Someone jokingly said, ‘I kept hearing you say hit away from her,’ and we kept hitting into her,” Tompkins said of Schnars. “It wasn’t like she did anything magical in terms of where she was. … We just put the ball over and right into her hands.”

“She’s dominant. At one point I said ‘It’s the Kylie Show,'” Hosier said. “It’s a team sport, but she had big blocks and big hits. … Once they started trying to go over the blocks, they were making more mistakes.”

“She caught fire today,” Maci Johnson added. ” … When she’s down the rest of us are down. Having her up there excited, too, it only makes us better.”

Cuba-Rushford was within 10 at 19-9, but Panama put the match away six of the next seven points, clinching it when the Rebels sent a spike out of bounds on match point.

“I feel like at the beginning of the season I was a little worried. Once we got into our groove, I had no doubt,” Bowen said. “I knew we could push through every game … and end up winning.”

“Our intensity and the belief was there the whole time. I never once doubted that they felt like they couldn’t win,” Hosier added. “That’s the first key to anything is that belief in yourselves.”

The Panthers will now look to return to the form of two years ago when they won the first state title in school history. Last fall, they went 3-0 in pool play on Saturday at states, but came up empty on Sunday when Bainbridge-Guilford won the final, 25-10, 25-14, 15-25, 25-12.

“We just have to keep working hard and keep believing in ourselves,” Hosier said. “Together everyone achieves more. The biggest thing is being unselfish.”

NOTES: Maci Johnson had three digs and a kill while senior Alexys Marsh had two kills and two digs for Panama. … Sophomore Summer Mattison led Cuba-Rushford with five kills, junior Kate Howe had 14 assists and senior Rebekah Clark had 26 digs. … In other regional action Saturday, Portville beat Section V Penn Yan in Class C and Section III Westhill beat Section V Wayne in Class B.