BOZEMAN — Townsend was making a slight push, trying to extend the second match of the Class B championship any way they could Friday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Shepherd coach Kamber Kelly turned toward the players on her bench and said, “Lock in.”
Maybe it was a needed reminder at that moment, but, truth be told, Kelly’s Fillies have been locked in all season and particularly on Friday.
Shepherd bounced back from its second-round loss on the tournament’s first day on Wednesday and won its next five matches, including three on Friday in back-to-back-to-back fashion to claim the school’s first volleyball state championship.
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“Oh, this is 10 times more than I thought it would feel like,” Shepherd senior Kayda Parker said. “It’s incredible. It’s amazing.”
The Fillies beat Townsend, the team that knocked them down on the tournament’s first day, 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 in the first championship match. Since Townsend had entered the match undefeated, an if-necessary game was required, and the Fillies won that one, as well, in another sweep.
Combined with Shepherd’s three-set sweep of Jefferson in the third-place match earlier Friday, the Fillies played nine sets over the span of nearly five hours and won them all, with Lexie Dennison getting championship point with a kill off a Townsend block attempt.
“Instead of feeling bad about it and feeling sad and being like, oh, it’s such a long journey, it’s we know we can accomplish this,” said senior Karli Goodell, who helped Shepherd win the state softball championship last spring. “Why not do it?”
Photos: Championship Friday at all-class state volleyball
For Parker and Kelly, it was a generational championship for the daughter-mother combo. Kelly has been on the Shepherd bench since Parker’s freshman season and assumed the head coach duties last year.
Kelly also won three state titles with her own mother, Laurie, as coach when both were at Roundup.
“It’s a family affair, I guess,” said Kamber Kelly, who announced earlier this season she wouldn’t continue as the Shepherd coach. “I’m not going to stay in it for years like my mom has, but I’m so fortunate to have been able to do this with her and my son here, and all of our families and our friends. It’s a really great feeling.”
Then, with Kayda standing next to her, Kamber finished: “I’m so proud of you.”
