By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
The IDEA Donna seniors had heard rumblings about how they couldn’t win the big one.
For the past two seasons, the Lady Titans came up short in the Texas Charter School Academic & Athletic League state tournament. They were overwhelmed at times, coach Heriberto Garza felt. Their mental toughness was a bit shaky, too.
But on Saturday, IDEA Donna showed the same poise and grit as its 2011 counterparts, sweeping the regional semifinal match before ousting Founders Classic Academy 25-11, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19 at Lyndon B. Johnson High School in Austin.
It marked Garza’s second title in four years.
“They were so excited because now they could also say they’re state champions,” he said. “For a long time, the team that won state (in 2011) said they’re the only ones to win. Now, these seniors can say they’re state champions as well and have their names on the banner.”
Sweeping YES Prep Southeast Academy gave the Lady Titans enough time to scout Founders Classic Academy and develop a game plan. Outside of some YouTube clips, Garza didn’t know much about their opponents in the title match, other than the height they had on the front line.
The Lady Titans, whose tallest player stands at 5-foot-9, found ways around some of their 6-foot-1 players.
“I noticed they left a lot of open spots,” Garza said, “So we either spiked it or tipped it into those open areas.”
Clarissa Garza, a senior, said it helped, too, that IDEA Donna took a non-sense approach heading into the tournament.
“We walked in with the mindset of not giving any mercy,” she said. “We just wanted to win 3-0 and not even go to the fourth set or fifth set like the year before.”
She posted 10 kills, 14 digs, four aces and two blocks, while teammate Clarissa Campos added six kills and two blocks.
“It feels like a dream come true,” Campos said. “Honestly, I think teamwork does it all. You can’t do anything if no one works together.”
IDEA Donna received contributions across the board. Karla Rodriguez (five kills, two blocks, 11 digs, three aces) and Gina Ortega (two kills, one block, eight digs, five aces) filled up the stat sheet. Tori Viejo came up big, serving eight aces to go with 18 digs. And Emily Tafolla (26 assists, five aces) and Vita Tijerina (18 assists, seven aces) shouldered the distribution load.
“What helped was just being very confident,” Heriberto Garza said. “We had a pep talk before the game and I told the girls that the only way we could beat a team like (Founders Classic Academy) is by playing a perfect game. When it’s a championship game, both teams are there for a reason. You have to go all out.
“They just felt confident that they could win and they wanted to show what they had on the court.”