College Park rallies to defeat Klein Collins in volleyball opener

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The College Park Lady Cavaliers rode the one-two punch of Emily Thorson and Kennedi Smith to defeat the talented Klein Collins Lady Tigers 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 25-13 in a non-district volleyball match Tuesday night at College Park High School.

The match was the season opener for both teams. Both squads came into the contest ranked among the top 20 teams in the state by several preseason polls.

“This was a great opener for us,’’ said the 6-foot-1 Thorson, who already has signed with the University of Tulsa. “We knew they had a good team.’’

Klein Collins actually had the most athletic player on the floor in 5-10 outside hitter Tabitha Brown, who has signed with the University of Alabama.

In fact, it was Brown’s rip-roaring jump serve that hit the top of the net and tumbled over that gave the Lady Tigers the two-point victory in Game One.

“I play club ball with her (Brown),’’ said Thorson, who led the Lady Cavs in blocks and kills, including the final blasts that put away the match in the fourth game.“She is the other outside hitter (on our club team). She is a tremendous player. We knew that coming into the game. She is very talented and very hard to stop.’’

Smith, however, started matching Brown blast for blast in the second and third games as the Lady Cavs slowly, but surely began to take back the momentum of the jam-packed opener.

The boisterous College Park crowd started getting into the match more and more each time Smith and Thorson put away long rallies with thundering spikes.

Klein Collins’ 6-1 sophomore middle hitter Natalya Chatham tried to help Brown around the net, but the Lady Cavs simply had the better all-around team on this night.

“This was our first home game, so we knew there was going to be some jitters,’’ Thorson said. “We just had to settle down and get the nerves out. After that, we started to play like a different team.’’

Brooke Regaldo, Elizabeth Harshaw and defensive specialist Amy Washburn also turned in some sparkling performances for Klein Collins, which is picked to challenge for the District 15-6A title.

Smith, who is only a junior, should have her pick of colleges when she graduates in 2016. She put on a show with her leaping ability and plays at the net the entire night.

College Park (1-0), which is picked to challenge The Woodlands for the District 16-6A title, next will take on Stratford in a non-district match on Aug. 21.