BY GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
Coming into the season, PSJA Memorial volleyball coach Angie Gonzales laid out 10 laws for her team. The players repeat them before and after practice each day, enforcing ideas like always giving 100 percent and treating the team as a sisterhood.
The Wolverines have bought in, and the results are starting to show on the court. A season after finishing 5-7 in District 31-5A, PSJA Memorial is out to a 4-0 start and sits alone at the top of the standings.
“We don’t give up. When we’re under pressure, we’re able to perform,” Gonzales said. “Three years ago, when I started, that was probably one of the biggest things that I noticed that the girls didn’t have. They didn’t have hustle, or heart, or fight. They kind of just, when they were down and out, they just threw up their hands. And now they don’t. They don’t give anything up.”
On the court, one of the biggest keys has been moving the Wolverines’ top players into all-around roles. Libero Carla De Leon has become an asset setting and serving. Setter Amanda Aguilera has added serving and defense to her game. Kristi Gomez, last season’s District 31-6A newcomer of the year, has continued to be the team’s leader in kills while sprinkling in a little bit of everything else.
“I can count on them to do anything, and that’s one of our laws, too: ‘I’m going to do whatever the coach says, whenever she says, however she says to do it,’” Gonzales said. “They really believe in me.”
PSJA Memorial has also benefitted from the emergence of freshman Victoria Maldonado, who has become one of the team’s strongest defensive players.
“I brought her up planning to mold her, but she really jumped into the role and took a commanding lead in our defense,” Gonzales said. “She’s doing a great job.”
MAKING PROGRESS
Progreso’s Ari Jalomo would love to be a hitter, but she’s open to helping wherever the Lady Red Ants need her. If she sees a hole in serve receive, she’ll step in and fill it. If somebody needs to make a set off the initial pass, Jalomo can fill that role, too. The one thing that’s for sure? Jalomo will be involved on every point.
“She’ll make that decision while the game is going on, and 90 percent of the time it will work,” Progreso coach Lisa Lancaster said. “She does it year long, and it’s something she’s been doing since she was little. It’s like a second nature to her.”
That second nature has developed as a result of dedication. Now a junior, Jalomo has been a varsity regular since her freshman year. Lancaster said Jalomo “always has a volleyball in her hands,” often looking to get a little work in before basketball practices start during the offseason.
Her work has shown on the court throughout her career. She earned district newcomer of the year as a freshman, and last season was a clear choice as the district’s setter of the year.
“When I made my nomination, the best part about it is the other coaches immediately agreed,” Lancaster said. “To have coaches from other teams remember who you are as an individual, not as a team, that really says something about what you’re doing on the court.”
The Lady Red Ants have shown well as a team, too, already quadrupling last season’s four-win total with a 16-8 mark, including 3-1 in District 32-4A. Progreso has infused some young talent, and the returning players have grown more comfortable with how Lancaster runs the program during her second season at the helm.
“It’s come a long way very quickly,” Lancaster said, “and they’re taking very well to it.”
BEARING DOWN
A year after taking third place in District 32-5A with an 8-6 record, PSJA High appears on track to make another push to the playoffs.
Through four matches, the Bears are 3-1, including a win against Donna High and a loss to Edcouch-Elsa, the two teams that shared the district title last year.
RGVSPORTS.COM VOLLEYBALL TOP 10 RANKINGS
Team Overall District Prv.
1, Mission Vets 27-3 4-0 2
2, Los Fresnos 27-8 4-0 3
3, McAllen Rowe 30-9 3-1 4
4, McAllen High 32-2 3-1 1
5, Mc Memorial 26-2 3-0 5
6, Bro. Veterans 21-10 4-0 10
7, Edcouch-Elsa 21-9 4-0 NR
8, PSJA Memorial 14-7 4-0 NR
9, Bro. Hanna 19-11 3-1 9
10, Shary. High 12-15 2-1 NR