MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — For the first time since 2005, McAllen High will be competing in the regional tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs did it Monday by rallying to beat Brownsville Veterans Memorial 26-28, 26-24, 25-22, 20-25, 15-9 in a Class 6A regional quarterfinal match at Sharyland Pioneer.
McHi (38-5) will play the winner of today’s San Antonio Clark-New Braunfels Canyon match in the Sweet 16 later this week.
“We have worked too hard not to come this far,” the Lady Bulldogs’ Julia Monday said. “We are just so excited, so proud. This title is so amazing. We’re going to keep working.”
Against of the better hitting teams they’ve faced all year, the Lady Bulldogs needed big contributions from their 6-footers up front in Monday and Sydney Pemelton. Monday led the way with 27 kills and two aces, while Pemelton posted 13 kills, seven block-kills and six aces.
They nearly fell behind two games, if not for a 6-1 run to even the match at one apiece. Pemelton’s block-kill trim the deficit 23-22. And in a rare instance of miscommunication, Brownsville Veterans allowed the ball to drop without anyone making an attempt at it as McHi evened the score.
At 24-all, Pemelton served up an ace that rippled the net and landed flat on Brownsville Veterans’ end. McHi sealed the set when Alexis Giusti (30 assists, three kills) connected with Carter Helmcamp on a kill that barely stayed in play.
“We just told them to keep focusing on what we were doing with the volleyball,” McHi coach Paula Dodge said. “We were making crucial mistakes, errors and not executing. So we just needed to focus on what we’re doing with the ball and executing our fundamentals.”
Believing Helmcamp sent the ball into foul territory, the Brownsville Veterans fans booed the officials.
“I think that was the heartbreaker,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said about Game 2. “I think that was our match. I think it would’ve been a different story if we would’ve gotten that one. But these girls are fighters and they showed it, coming back in that fourth game. So unfortunately our passing towards the end wasn’t on point and that really hurt us.”
The Lady Chargers (33-12), who had never reached the third round in their short history, came up big early. They challenged McHi at the net. They exchanged points for the most part with the Lady Bulldogs, as neither team led by more than two points in Game 1, until Brownsville Vets hit into the net to fall behind 16-13.
McHi had an opportunity to go ahead before Julissa Villarreal committed a service error that allowed the Lady Chargers went up 27-26 before taking a 1-0 lead.
But McHi bounced back, winning the next two sets and ripping off an 8-0 run in Game 5 following back-to-back kills by Monday to build a significant cushion.
It helped, too, that Brownsville Veterans had four miscues during that stretch.
The Lady Bulldogs took full advantage. After Brownsville Vets countered with 3-1 spurt of its own to narrow the gap 13-7, Carter Helmcamp (six kills, 29 assists, one block) found Taylor Helmcamp for a score.
Pemelton put the finishing touches, when Alli Amaya (eight digs) set her up for a back-row kill that incited celebration.
“They were very intense,” Monday said in describing the games. “Everyone had their falls and fumbles, but we did amazing overall. I’m proud of everyone.”
Brownsville Veterans was led by Cardenas, who finished with a team-high 20 kills and seven digs. Maria Rios had 12 kills and four digs. And Sarah Sandoval added 12 kills, 26 digs and three blocks.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Mares said. “It was one of our goals to the regional tournament. Unfortunately we didn’t get to that.
“I think we were evenly matched but unfortunately the ball fell on their side. That’s how it goes.”