By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — D.D. Ibarra remembered the disappointment she experienced a month ago when her McAllen Memorial team led McAllen High in the championship match of the Poundfest Tournament before losing the final two sets.
That letdown, she said, motivated her team to avoid a similar outcome Saturday, and it showed in the manner in which the Lady Mustangs dispatched visiting McHi 25-22, 25-18, 25-18 in the first of two regular-season meetings.
“We knew from the beginning it was going to be a tough game, like the championship game of the McAllen tournament (last month),” Ibarra said. That tournament match “was horrible; we were embarrassed. So we knew we had to come out better.”
Ibarra recorded five kills, one ace and nine digs as Memorial (29-3, 3-0 in district) handed McHi only its second loss of the year in 32 outings. The Lady Bulldogs hadn’t lost since the season opener, when they hosted Laredo Alexander.
McHi led in a couple instances in the opening game Saturday, but never by more than one point until it opened a 21-19 edge on a kill from Carter Helmcamp to Victoria Rogers. Following a timeout, however, Memorial responded with a 4-0 run, helped, in part, by two McHi errors.
Moments later, officials reversed a call in favor for Memorial, which took a 24-22 lead, before Alexia Kruse connected with Jocelynn Everage for a kill to seal it.
“They’re a great team,” McHi coach Paula Dodge said. “They did a good job, and we made way too many errors. You play a team this good and you have to be at the top of your game. And we made a lot of hitting errors and defensive errors.
“At this level, you have to execute all the fundamentals, all the time.”
Though the Lady Bulldogs kept it close in Game 2, Memorial never appeared in danger of losing, keeping at least a five-point separation once it led 15-10. Then in the final set, McHi took control early before Memorial tied it at 12 and went ahead for good on a series of timely lobs by Kruse, who finished with 25 assists and five digs.
“She was definitely on her A-game,” Ibarra said. “Her sets were perfect. And Taylor (Marburger)’s defense was amazing. So was Jocelyn’s blocking, too.”
With that, Memorial, ranked No. 3 in the latest RGVSports.com top 10 poll, remained atop the district standings after beating McHi, the preseason No. 1 pick.
“Every year it’s the same,” Memorial coach Lorena Lopez said about the competitiveness of the rivalry. “You’ve got to get these wins early on to secure a high playoff speed. But, really, we just treat it like individual matches, but we know we could still get a lot from these. These prepare us for the playoffs.
“I’ve been coaching against Coach Dodge for 15 years, and we love it. We love to play the game, and I’m hoping the girls come out of this with a lot of confidence. It’s definitely a good boost.”
As McHi looks ahead to the remaining 10 games of district play, Dodge said her team would have to sharpen several skills, particularly blocking. In some instances Saturday, her players hit right into blocks, giving away costly points.
Rogers led the way for McHi with eight kills, 12 digs and one block. Julia Monday also had eight kills to go with four digs and two blocks. Sydney Pemelton delivered four kills, four digs, two blocks and one ace. And Helmcamp notched seven kills, five digs, 21 assists, one block and one ace.
Everage led Memorial with 14 kills and 12 digs. Marburger had 12 kills to go with 13 assists, eight digs and four aces. And Valeria Treviño contributed five kills and three digs.
“We knew coming in that they had huge blockers,” Ibarra said. “So we just had to swing away and have our defense ready for whatever was going to come. … The goal now, for this team, is to be undefeated district champs, so we’re just trying to meet that goal right now.
“This was like a playoff game. Both teams were really strong. It just came down to who was better today.”