PHOTO: MATTHEW SMITH
BY BRIAN GOSSET
GARLAND – Byron Nelson hasn’t trailed much all season – only dropping four out of 110 total sets coming into Saturday’s match against Pearland Dawson.
The Bobcats found themselves down in each set, but strung along several points to pull away. And when the dust cleared, Byron was back on top while making some history in the Culwell Center.
Byron swept Dawson 25-18, 25-17, 25-19 to win the Class 6A D1 state championship – completing an undefeated 42-0 season. The Bobcats became the second UIL volleyball team in the largest class to have an undefeated season, win back-to-back titles and drop just one match in two years (the first team was back in the mid 1980s).
Beating Dawson also extended its win streak to a remarkable 78 matches in a row – dating back to mid August of last season when the team lost to DFW neighbor Highland Park at the Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii.
Senior Washington signee Kylie Kleckner capped her stellar high school career with her second straight state champ MVP award with 21 kills on 0.314 hitting and 17 digs. She had 24 kills during their sweep over Houston Stratford in the 6A D2 final last year.
Fellow D1 bound AJ Seay (Rice signee) added 11 kills and six digs while Texas A&M commit Sophee Peterson had 35 assists and 13 digs. Kherynton Chinnis chipped in seven kills and three total blocks. Starting libero Savannah Sterna ended with 14 digs.
The Bobcats trailed 8-7 in the first set before scoring five in a row and never giving up the lead. They also scored five straight in the third after going down 10-9. Trailing 17-16 in the second set, Byron reeled off the final nine points that included three kills by Seay, one from Kleckner and a kill and block from Mallory McMahon.
Kleckner finished off the second set with an ace.
*THE STORY WILL BE UPDATED*
