Byron Nelson volleyball caps historic undefeated season with state title

November 22, 2025

The Byron Nelson Bobcats earned a place in Texas sports history by beating the Pearland Dawson Eagles in a three-set sweep to win the 2025 UIL 6A Division I Volleyball State Championship and finish the season undefeated.

With a 78-match winning streak dating back to last season, the Bobcats have amassed a record of 82-1 over the past two years, including a perfect 42-0 record this year. Their dominant state championship performance cements the Bobcats as the top-ranked team in the nation, having held the top spot in multiple national polls throughout the course of the season.

“I’m really sad that it’s over,” Coach Brianne Groth said after the match. “I think these kids are just so spectacular. We have thought about this since last year, to do this again, and for it to finally be here and for the girls to achieve their dream of going back-to-back and having an undefeated season, it couldn’t have happened to a better group of kids.”

The Bobcats overpowered the nationally ranked Eagles with set victories of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-19, rarely trailing at any point of the three sets. Byron Nelson faced its biggest adversity in the second set, when it trailed 15-13 after a 9-2 run by Dawson, though the Bobcats quickly regained their lead and never looked back.

Senior Kylie Kleckner earned MVP honors of the championship match, finishing with 21 kills and 17 digs. Additional standout performances for the Bobcats included junior Sophee Peterson with 35 assists and 13 digs, and senior Ashlyn Seay with 11 kills and six digs. The trio earned places on the UIL championship all-tournament team for their performances. Kylie has committed to continue her playing career for the University of Washington Huskies, Sophee has committed to play volleyball for the Texas A&M Aggies and Ashlyn will compete for the University of Rice Owls.

Sophee, the top-ranked volleyball student-athlete in the nation for her class, said the team’s success stems from supporting one another and striving to be the best.

“We know we’re a talented team, but we also know that there’s 1% more we can push every day in practice,” she said in the post-match press conference. “And off the court, just loving on each other, being each other’s best friends and always being there for each other.”

With their 42-0 season, Byron Nelson becomes just the 17^th undefeated state champion in UIL history. No team has ever finished undefeated two years in a row in the state’s largest classification, though the Bobcats join the 1983 and 1984 Houston Clear Lake program as the only teams to repeat as state champions with just one loss over the course of two seasons.

Since the start of the season, the Bobcats have ranked first in the MaxPreps national rankings. Throughout the season, the Bobcats notched nine victories over teams ranked in the national poll, including a win over the second-ranked Sierra Canyon Trailblazers of Chatsworth, California. The Bobcats started their season playing some of the top teams in the nation at the Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii, including Sierra Canyon, earning their second consecutive title in the prestigious tournament.

Byron Nelson High School previously won volleyball state titles in 2024 and 2019. The Bobcat volleyball program is now the first program in Northwest ISD history to earn three UIL state championships.