MONTGOMERY — For the Tecumseh Lady Braves, Halloween in Mongtomery turned out to be a “Nightmare on Kavanaugh Kourt.”

Top-ranked Barr-Reeve made history by becoming the first Viking squad in any sport to repeat as a regional champions by downing Tecumseh 25-16, 25-21, 25-21 to win the Barr-Reeve Regional on Saturday and earn a second straight Class A volleyball state finals berth.

After knocking off fourth-ranked Springs Valley (29-6) in their semifinal match earlier in the day, Barr-Reeve (36-0) out dueled Tecumseh (24-9) in the championship tilt, though the Lady Braves would not go quietly into the Halloween night.

Barr-Reeve, which has dropped just three sets the entire season, actually trailed the Lady Braves at some point in each of three sets of the championship match. But the Lady Vikings, behind the hitting of Purdue bound Hilliary Fox, Tya Harmon, Haley Taylor and Maggie Sanders, the setting of Terrell Miller, and the strong defensive play of Melinda Yoder, Lindsay Graber, and Cassidy Helms got the job done for the sixth volleyball regional title in school history.

The win over Tecumseh might not have been as dominant as the thrashing Barr-Reeve administered to Springs Valley earlier in the day. But for the large throng of Viking Nation on hand, with the wood for the championship bonfire piled high across the street from the school prior to the match, a win was a win for Barr-Reeve coach Amber DeCoursey.

“We’re going to take it, we’re going to take it. We know there were some things that we didn’t do well tonight, but Tecumseh earned quite a few of their points. I was just really happy with how our kids stayed focused and stayed in it,” said DeCoursey. “I thought we played very well this morning, we played very well. Tonight, the things that we did well this morning didn’t carry over to tonight’s match. But credit Tecumseh for that, and credit our kids for staying focused and getting the job done.”

For Fox and fellow seniors Yoder and Miller, it was the last time they would be together on Kavanaugh Kourt for a volleyball game. And that trio went out in style.

“We knew that they would be ready for us, and they were, they came out and played their game. But we just went after them,” said Fox. “It feels amazing. I had it in my head all day that today would be the last time that I would play on this floor. It was a good way to go out.”

After a Class A runner-up finish last season, the Lady Vikes have spent much of the regular season ranked No. 1 and entered Saturday as one of the only three teams in the state regardless of class without a loss on the season (the other two schools, Class 2A schools Muncie Burris and Northeastern, played in the final of the Shenandoah Regional on Saturday, with Muncie Burris winning). But after beating Tecumseh, DeCoursey said her players haven’t let their laurels go to their head.

“This group, I can’t say enough good things about them. From the senior leadership to the underclassmen, they’ve just meshed together so well. I’m so proud of them,” said DeCoursey. “They’ve really kept their heads on. They didn’t talk about the type of season they were having or their ranking. They just went out and played the game that was ahead of them.”

Tecumseh advanced to the championship match with a 25-23, 25-23, 25-19 win over New Washington (19-14) earlier in the day. The Lady Vikings got through a close first set against Springs Valley before sailing away from the Lady Blackhawks in the final two sets for a 25-23, 25-12, 25-8 win. DeCoursey knew her team would get a challenge from Valley, one of only three teams this year to take a set from Barr-Reeve, but she was pleased with how her team rose to the occasion.

“We knew that it was going to be back and forth like that. With their two 6-0 guns, we knew they were going to put balls to the floor and earn points and get big blocks,” said DeCoursey. “It was just how were we going to respond. And I thought we responded very well.”

Barr-Reeve will play the team which defeated them in the Class A state title game a year ago, No. 2 Michigan City Marquette Catholic — winners of the last five Class A state championships — in the second semifinal at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena in the second state semifinal at 11 a.m on Saturday. Fifth-ranked Wes-Del and Indianapolis Lutheran will play in the first semifinal at 9 a.m.