SPRING — Klein Oak had pretty much owned Montgomery on the volleyball court over the past decade and beyond. Then 2023 happened.
On Tuesday night, the Bears defeated the Panthers for the second time in 10 days.
It came down to a tight finish as senior Kaysie Lynch put in the final ace and prevented surging Klein Oak from extending the match for a 25-20, 25-15, 25-23 sweep.
Coming into the season, Montgomery (18-10) had previously lost nine straight matches to Klein Oak (10-14) dating back to at least 2009, according to MaxPreps.
“Since they got so close to us, I knew we had to fight to the end,” Lynch, a setter for the Bears, said afterwards of putting in the final point. “That whole match I wasn’t doing well on my serves. Going back there, I knew I had to calm down. Breath. Focus on my serves. And when I got the ace, I was like home free.”
The match was dubbed the ‘Battle for the Christmas Tree’, something Montgomery coach Stormi Champion (while at Kingwood Park) and Klein Oak coach Davette McCall (while at Dayton) talked about having a fun theme for a rivalry years back.
After the win, Montgomery held the mini lighted Christmas tree — donned with a volleyball ‘star’ at the top — for pictures and then took it on the bus home. Christmas music was also played during warmups. Both coaches and fans dressed in green and red.
“It goes back with the coaches,” Lynch said of the creation of the casual rivalry with a fun twist. “Every year, whoever wins gets to decorate the treat and then we pass it back and forth.”
Montgomery maintained the lead early in the first set. Klein Oak steadily climbed out of an early 8-4 hole.
After several ties, the Panthers took the lead at 14-13 on a block by Kortney Craig.
Down 16-15, Montgomery was sparked by a 5-0 run, featuring an ace by Ellie Sadler, a kill by freshman Delaney Wright and then two straight points (a block and a kill) by middle Grace Ellis. McKenzie Hope slammed home the set-winning kill.
Klein Oak tiptoed out to a 6-4 lead in the second set. But it was all Montgomery from there. The Bears went on a 6-0 run starting with a kill by Hope.
The Panthers cut the deficit to 17-14 before Montgomery took eight of the next nine points to end it. Peyton Harts started it with a kill and added two aces, including the final point of the set.
Montgomery went up 11-4 in the third set. But it did not cruise to the finish line.
Klein Oak trailed 16-11 before Lauren Dale, the team’s lone senior, Camile Csernik, Craig, Tori Leggiero and Alana Trotman all contributed to an 11-2 run to go up 21-18.
A couple kills by Hope helped Montgomery stick with the Panthers. Down 23-21, Montgomery reeled off four straight points, including a pair of aces by Lynch, to close things out.
“We’ve been working on a lot of pressure situations,” Champion said. “It’s nice to see them put that into action and being successful with it.”
Of the 33 kills by Montgomery, Harts led with eight. Wright had seven while Ellis and Hope each had six. Lynch had 26 assists and Sadler had 13 digs while Wright had 11.
“It’s super fun,” Champion said of being able to defeat Klein Oak twice after the program hadn’t beaten them in so long. “It’s hard to be anyone more than once in general. It’s nice to see early that we can beat teams more than once.”
The win struck accord with the Bears coming in.
Montgomery had won 12 straight matches until a three-set defeat to Oak Ridge in the championship of the Dayton Invitational this past Saturday.
A win Tuesday meant Montgomery surpassed its win total of 17 last season.
“We’ve reached the amount of wins we had last year,” Sadler said. “Just keep going. I think we’ve got a really good vibe. I think everyone is positive and we trust each other in the back and in the front.”
Montgomery now plays Bryan at home on Friday at 6 p.m. The Vikings, coached by former Montgomery head coach Kayli Kane, fell to the Bears at the Huntsville Tournament on Aug. 11 in two sets.
“That’s another situation where we’ve already seen them once in a tournament,” Champion said. “We are excited to see them again in a full three out of five match set.”
Klein Oak, meanwhile, travels to Baytown Sterling for a non-district match Friday at 6:30 p.m.
