Trailing 18-12 to Klein Collins in the third game of their third-place match in the Cy-Fair ISD Invitational Volleyball Tournament, the Cy-Fair Bobcats, pounded their way to draw even with the Lady Tigers at 24-24 and force a tiebreaker.
But in the end, a soft tap from Emily Wright delivered a come-from-behind win.
The Cy-Fair Lady Bobcats defeated the Klein Collins Lady Tigers in three sets (16-25, 25-15, 27-25) at the Berry Center on Saturday to earn the third-place trophy in the Gold Division of the annual CFISD volleyball tournament. Wright's tip put the finishing touches on the comeback.
Klein Collins looked impressive in the opening set win, but Cy-Fair head coach Donna Benotti said her team's experience at coming from behind helped them stay motivated.
"We've been down before and come back and we've managed to win games," said Benotti. "The kids just never give up. They just really fight hard."
Benotti also made some offensive and defensive adjustments after the opening set that helped her team.
"(Klein Collins) did look very impressive (in the first game), but our ball control was out of system," Benotti stated. "So, in game two, we made some changes so we made some changes to help get us in system to apply a little more pressure on them.
Those changes paved the way to a 25-15 win in the second game, but Klein Collins would rebound in the deciding set.
Leading 10-9 in the final game, the Lady Tigers pulled away with a 9-4 run before Cy-Fair began their comeback, trailing 19-13. The Lady Bobcats, led by seniors Kameryn Hayes and Sarah Teel, scored six of the next seven points to draw back to 20-19.
Klein Collins, playing without injured middle blocker Molly McCage, managed to hold the Bobcats at bay to get to match point at 24-22.
But Cy-Fair scored five of the final six points, including Wright's tap over the net that fell between three Tiger defenders for the match-winning point.
"(We) just didn't run like we should have," said Klein Collins head coach Beverly Murphy following the loss.
Still Murphy found a silver lining in defeat.
"This helps us because they tipped a lot," said the coach, whose team defeated Langham Creek before losing to Cypress Woods to find their way to the third-place match. "That's the first time we've played against a team that's tipped all the time. So I told (the team), we'll progress."
For the Bobcats, who must replace all-state performer Chiney Ogwumike, the win was a nice ending to a first week of play that included wins over Cinco Ranch and Katy.
"We've got a young team and a lot of first-year starters," said Benotti, whose team finishes the first week of the season 7-1, "and I knew they'd eventually excel, but I'm very happy with the start."
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