With a concluding kill, sophomore Jalyn Sackrider put an exclamation point on Elma’s first volleyball win over rival Montesano in the 21st Century.

Dominating play from the outset, the Eagles rolled past the Bulldogs, 25-13, 25-16, 25-13, in an Evergreen 1A League opener on Sept. 26 at Elma.

It is believed to be Elma’s first conquest of their East County rivals in volleyball since 1999. Laura Nelson, who coached the Eagles to their last previous victory, was on hand Tuesday as a line judge.

The decisiveness of the contest was somewhat surprising, but the outcome wasn’t. Although still a young team (setter Kenna Stoney is their lone senior starter), the Eagles improved to 6-1 despite facing a tough early season schedule.

The reigning league champion Bulldogs (3-4) were hit hard by graduation.

“I’m very proud of how the girls came out,” second-year Eagle head coach Kendra Henry said. “It’s a good step in the right direction and it will be exciting to see how far they can go.”

Quin Mikel, another member of Elma’s talented sophomore class, led the Eagles with nine kills, while Sackrider added eight. Stoney collected 22 assists and 10 digs.

Sophomore Kali Rambo served four aces, while Sackrider, Mikel and Stoney added three aces apiece.

The Bulldogs, in contrast, delivered only 10 kills as a team. They probably lost at least that many points on net violations — several of which erased apparent winners.

Montesano did display some decent defense, as sophomore Carly Bradbury brought up nine digs and Hannah Hatcher eight digs. Hatcher, who alternated between setter and libero, also had eight assists.

The tone, as the saying goes, was set early.

After Stoney won the opening point on a push into the open court, Mikel hammered a pair of aces. That ignited a run that produced a 9-0 lead.

“Mentally, we weren’t in the game,” Monte head coach Renee Volz, a former Elma coach, asserted. “I think we were overthinking where we were at.”

The Bulldogs rebounded from the rough start to close the deficit to 15-12 when Zoe Hutchings knocked off an overpass. But a missed serve gave Elma a side-out and Stoney promptly served seven consecutive points to put the Eagles back in command.

Rambo served a pair of aces and Mikel, Sackrider and Maddi Clark alternated kills as Elma went on an 18-3 spree to erase Monte’s only leads of the night, at 1-0 and 2-1, in the third set.

The Bulldogs won the JV match, 25-21, 25-19.