Montclair Kimberley finally broke the long dominance of Livingston on the girls' volleyball court, and they did it at the right time. The Cougars beat the Lancers for the first time in seven years to win the Essex County championship.

It was a highly impressive performance by MKA, which charged out of the gate by winning 11 of the first 12 points. Kennedy Robinson had a huge effort in that opening game, which the Cougars finished off to win 25-11.

MKA also built a 15-5 lead in game two thanks to eight straight points on the serve of Gracie Andres. But Livingston fought back with four aces from Rachel Cherny and some big hitting from Victoria Fogg.

The Lancers cut the deficit to 19-16 and seemed to have momentum, but the Cougars settled themselves and closed out the game, with Andres recording the kill on match point. MKA won the second game 25-19.

Robinson notched 13 kills to lead the way along with two aces. The Cougars' other senior leader, Kimani Freeman, had four kills, 12 digs and two aces.

Andres recorded two aces, two kills and two blocks. Tyla Parker had 19 assists and 10 service points, and Sam Dowd recorded eight digs.

For Livingston, Fogg notched seven kills. Mallory Russo and Julie Kane had six digs apiece. The top-seeded Lancers fall to 21-3 on the season.

Second-seeded MKA won its first-ever county title. It's the Cougars' second championship of the week after also winning the Prep state title. MKA improves to 22-4 heading into the state tournament.

For sports video highlights of this New Jersey and Essex County high school girls' volleyball match, click play in the box at left.