MISSOURI CITY – Whatever happens in the Fort Bend Dulles volleyball team’s remaining 17 district games, the Vikings already know they’ve passed one of the stiffer tests they’ll take all year.

Seemingly ready to put Fort Bend Clements away early in each of the final two sets Tuesday night, the Rangers took advantage of a handful of Vikings miscues in the fourth set and managed to force a decisive fifth set. But even returning only one starter from last year’s regional semifinalist team, the Vikings survived late in the fifth and squeaked out a 25-17, 21-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-13 win at Hopson Fieldhouse in the District 23-5A opener for both teams.

“It was definitely a battle the entire match and that’s what we prepare for,” Dulles (3-6 overall, 1-0 district) coach Dena Scott said. “We work hard to finish and that’s what we’re working on this season. We did it tonight.”

Senior outside hitter Amy Moyer, Dulles’ only returning starter, had 17 kills, and Samantha O’Malley and Sarah Behrens added eight apiece.

The Vikings led 7-1 early in the fourth set, only to have the Rangers (1-7, 0-1) claw back to take leads of 15-12 and 24-21 due in part to Vikings errors and strong front row play from, among others, six-foot middle blocker Michelle Carle and 5-11 outside hitter Kaylee Inman.

In the fifth set, Dulles jumped out to a 7-1 lead before Clements outside hitter Lauren Frosch and middle blocker Courtney Kimutis helped key a 9-3 run. Clements pulled even at 10 and 11 before Dulles opening a two-point lead with strong defense.

Moyer ended the game with a thunderous kill.

“It’s been a tradition through many of the years I played here; we pride ourselves on defense. We’re scrappy and we work hard to maintain that work ethic,” said Scott, a Dulles graduate. “Until the whistle is blown, we play every ball.”

O’Malley and Chelsea Mayor are the Vikings’ only other returning letterwinners.

“As long as we could minimize our mistakes, we were going to be OK,” Scott said. “We’re getting there. It’s a game-by-game battle.”

Elkins d. Willowridge 25-12, 25-11, 25-3
Elkins, like Dulles and Clements one of the favorites to make the playoffs out of 23-5A, sprinted to huge leads in each set and swept Willowridge at Hopson Fieldhouse.

Amy Bremer and Sierra Anderson had five kills apiece, Hope Williams and Kristin Reeves added four each and Bremer had 10 assists for the Knights (6-3, 1-0), who returned five players from last year – including four all-district selections.

“One thing I was able to do was get a lot of girls in who hadn’t had a lot of time, just some ball work where they didn’t have to worry about what they were doing,” Elkins coach Keith Johnson said. “We actually worked on a few things throughout the game, which was good.

“Our chemistry is working. It’s getting there. We want to peak later, not right now. We’re still trying to find each other.”

Elkins competes in Pearland’s Nike Volleyball Classic this weekend and plays district contender Fort Bend Travis on Sept. 2. 

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