MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — McAllen High players couldn’t contain their emotions Tuesday.
A 25-12, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23 victory over McAllen Rowe meant more than just a run-of-the-mill district victory against a crosstown rival. It gave the Lady Bulldogs some breathing room in what has a season-long tug-of-war between the three McAllen ISD schools.
By virtue of the win, the Lady Bulldogs (32-5 season, 8-1 district) gain sole possession of first place in District 30-6A, knocking Rowe (32-5, 7-2) in a two-way tie for second with McAllen Memorial (21-8, 7-2).
McHi has three matches remaining, all against teams it has beaten through the first round of district, including one of its biggest threats for the district title in McAllen Memorial.
“That’s our next goal,” the Lady Bulldogs’ Hannah Bishop said. “We’ve just got to take it step by step.”
Bishop (10 kills) was one of several players who helped McHi regain control of the match in Game 3 and pull ahead for good. She took a feed from Carter Helmcamp and sent a kill into the back row to take a 15-14 edge. Then, it was Helmcamp who connected with Julia Monday (17 kills) to give the Lady Bulldogs a 22-21 lead.
Coming out of the timeout, Alexis Guisti (4 kills, 18 assists) sent a thundering kill into the opposing corner, before finding Monday for a score. Dominique Peña then set up Kellie Woodin for a kill directed at Rowe’s Melanie Ortiz, who lost her shoe during the sequence.
Monday iced the game as the Lady Bulldogs took a 2-1 cushion.
“We came together and played as a team,” Helmcamp said. “We took our individual skills and put them together as one.”
The Lady Bulldogs battled from behind in Game 4 and nearly lost the lead, before going on a 5-0 run, capped by Helmcamp’s feed to Taylor Helmcamp. Moments later, Pemelton’s block-kill sealed the win as players piled on top each other, some overcome by emotion.
“Amazing,” Carter Helmcamp said. “It feels awesome. We haven’t beaten Rowe since my freshman year (in 2012). So this has been our goal since Day One.”
The win Tuesday helped avenge a come-from-behind Rowe victory less than a month ago in which McHi won the first game before losing three straight. In beating Rowe, the Lady Bulldogs avoided being swept in the season series.
“Our crosstown rivalry is always wonderful,” McHi coach Paula Dodge said. “It’s always a lot of fun, it’s always a good match. (This win) means right now it gives us a little boost in confidence, I hope. We still have district games left, so we still have some work to do.”
Next up, the Lady Bulldogs face La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and close with La Joya Palmview — two teams out of the playoff picture. In between is McAllen Memorial, which McHi swept 25-23, 25-22, 25-23, more than two weeks ago.
Even with history on their side, Dodge isn’t penciling in a district title.
“You never have a cushion in this district or in the Valley,” she said. But “we’re where we need to be right now.”
Rowe was led by Mayda Garcia, who finished with 22 kills and 27 digs. Vanessa Lopez doled out 24 assists. Deanna Spear notched 16 assists and 26 digs. Sophia Luna contributed 13 kills, 19 digs and two blocks.