An offseason of hard work, dedication and positive thinking has helped Montgomery volleyball emerge as one of the most improved teams in the Houston area.
On Tuesday night — three days before the calendar flips to September — the Bears surpassed their win total in 2022.
Montgomery swept Klein Oak in non-district play to raise its record to 18-10. The Bears won the silver bracket at the Huntsville Tournament two weeks ago and were second place this past Saturday at the Dayton Invitational.
The Bears enter Friday’s non-district home match against Bryan winners of 13 of their last 14 matches.
The vast improvement comes off a rough finish to the final two months last season.
In head coach Stormi Champion’s first season, the Bears lost 14 straight matches (all in District 21-5A) and finished 17-26.
“Offseason was rough,” Montgomery senior setter Kaysie Lynch said. “But we knew that next year was going to be our year. We needed to step up and since we are in such a hard district, we need to do well enough to be better than last year.”
Champion, a 2011 alumna of Montgomery, is pleased with her team’s start to this season.
“I think they have taken what happened last year and they don’t want it to happen again,” Champion said. “They really invested in (that) everything has a purpose and everything is important. Each person has a different role and they bring something to the team. They’re riding that right now.”
Montgomery lost seven seniors from last year but had plenty of returners with experience.
“We lost some, but we gained some, too,” Champion said. “We just had a lot of returning experience. We had a lot of youngsters last year. But I’ve got a lot more juniors now who have seen the varsity side now and are getting used to it. They’re just really thriving in this environment.”
Lynch, one of seven seniors, has emerged as one of the team’s top leaders. She totaled her 1,000th career assist earlier this month and 635 through 28 matches, averaging 8.8 per set.
“Kaysie is our constant right now,” Champion said. “She’s consistent all the time. She kind of holds them together.”
Senior Grace Ellis leads in blocks (33) and is third in kills (144).
“Grace has been a great addition for us,” Champion said. “She’s been unstoppable at the net and has added a lot of offense for us.”
Junior Ellie Sadler leads in digs with 305.
“A lot of hard work and coach Champion has been really good at pushing us to the next level,” Sadler said. “That also helps the team work together and bond more.”
Senior Abby Mullins, junior McKenzie Hope and sophomore Peyton Harts have all made major contributions to the early success.
The leader in kills? That’s a freshman.
Delaney Wright has burst on the scene with a team-best 235, an average of 3.3 per set.
“The main thing was doing better than last year,” Lynch said. “We kind of have this star hitter in Delaney. She’s a freshman and gives us fresh new vibes for the team. It brings the group together and we work well as a team because we cheer each other up. I think we work better this year.”
Montgomery started 2-5 this season, but learned a ton about itself at the elite John Turner Classic tournament in Pearland the first weekend of the season.
“We immediately saw really tough teams,” Champion said. “We were neck-and-neck with tough teams. We took several three-set matches that tournament. Overall, we lost in the big scheme of things. But the girls being able to realize that we’re going to have to be here and we’re going to have to hang against these other teams was good.”
Said Sadler, “We learned things that we can do consistently. Different plays that we can do and we learned who worked best with each other.”
District play starts Sept. 8. Calendar circled. A trip to Bryan Rudder to start the 14-match sprint to the finish line. The Bears won just five sets in district play a year ago, but that feels like a long time ago.
“I’d say they kind of have a little chip on their shoulders,” Champion said. “Even last year in our preseason, we were successful. But when you’re stuck in one of the most successful districts in the state, somebody has to lose at the end of the day. They don’t want that to be them again. They’re taking and remembering it.”
Montgomery last made the playoffs in 2021, the season before Champion came to the program. That team had a below .500 overall record and lost in the bi-district round. In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Bears went 15-8 and lost in the bi-district round.
District 21-5A is tough. It features Lake Creek, returning state semifinalist. The Lions were second place behind Brenham and ahead of playoff teams in College Station and Magnolia West in the standings last year.
“I think we’re the underdogs and people have us under the radar,” Sadler said. “But they’re going to start watching us because we’re winning and we’re working really hard and staying consistent.”
Champion has enjoyed the turnaround. The team looked capable of anything in the win over Klein Oak.
“It’s been awesome just to witness it,” Champion said. “It started during the offseason. They really just started working hard all the time. It continued on through summer where they were showing up and doing what it takes to be successful. Getting to witness the growth that has happened is awesome.”
