Klein Oak seeking ‘breakthrough’

You win some, you lose some.

Klein Oak has done both in equal measure in non-district, taking an 1110 overall record into this week.

The Panthers open District 15-6A play Friday at Dekaney.

“I’m pretty pleased with the direction we’re headed,” coach Christi Mewis said.

“We entered the Pearland tournament for the first time this year, and our other tournament was the Clear Creek ISD tournament, and so some of our losses are to teams such as Plano West, Southlake Carroll (and) Austin Westlake.

“So it’s been a competitive atmosphere, and our hope is that … our district play will seem a little bit slower than what our preseason has been.”

Klein Oak is winning with defense.

It swept a Cypress Falls team that had 21 wins this week in its season opener and then defeated Cypress Creek 3-0 three weeks ago by holding them to 10 points the first set and 12 in the second.

“We’re very scrappy, and everyone seems to contribute and really play hard on the defensive side,” Mewis said.

Defensive specialists Ashlyn Langner and Abby Drzymalla pace the defense with help from outside hitter Logan Studdard.

Drzymalla led the team with 283 kills through 21 games in her first varsity season.

“We saw her come in as a freshman last year and knew she had something special, but we wanted to give her some time to get caught up with the speed of the game on the varsity level, and she didn’t need that much time,” Mewis said.

“She came in her first game and blew us away, so she’s been with us ever since.”

Langner had 220 kills through 21 matches while rotating at libero with Drzymalla.

“It’s based on personnel and who had a great practice that day and statistically who’s going to give us an edge over the team we’re competing against,” Mewis said.

Studdard is their wellrounded star, with 245 digs, 116 kills and 19 service aces.

“She’s a go-getter,” Mewis said. “She goes hard after the ball, and she really takes a lot of pride in her defense.”

Now Mewis is looking for that same intensity on offense.

The Panthers were up 2-0 on College Park two weeks ago before dropping three straight sets and the match in five.

“It’s almost like we’re that ‘almost’ team,” Mewis said. “We almost beat this team or we almost beat that team, so we need to figure out how to push through and finish, and not be so up and down.”

Klein Oak also fell to Oak Ridge in five sets right before the College Park match.

Mewis said both outings were good efforts. Now she’s looking for a breakthrough win to complement the should-win matches they’ve taken.

They beat Ridge Point, Tompkins and Katy last weekend at the Clear Creek ISD tournament but dropped matches against tougher teams in Clear Springs, Deer Park, The Woodlands and Dulles.

“It was a competitive tournament, and it was really good for us to see different teams away from our region,” Mewis said.

“It really will help us in the future.”

And with district play starting Friday, the future is now.

The Panthers open against Dekaney and the field appears wide open, with the top Klein ISD teams, including Klein Collins (14-12) and Klein (11-11), all taking records that are around .500 into district

“Volleyball starts so fast, so you’ve got to build that chemistry quickly, and sometimes it takes a little while for that chemistry to develop,” Mewis said.

“But the district’s going to be very competitive. I don’t think there’s a clear standout. Probably, if I had to pick right now, I’d say Collins has the edge on another shot at that district championship, but everyone else will be competing for it as well.”

Jason McDaniel is a freelance writer who can be reached at jasonrmcdaniel@outlook.com.