BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
MISSION — Mission Veterans Memorial mounted a furious rally and scored the last four points of game five to defeat District 31-5A rival Sharyland Pioneer 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-13 and 16-14 in an intense, high-level match Tuesday night at Veterans’ gym between two of the best volleyball programs in the Valley.
The Lady Patriots, playing from behind the whole night and trailing two 2-1 at one point, dug deep and found the heart coach Martina Carrillo says every team needs to win tough matches like this one that was played before a raucous 500 fans that made the gym deafening most of the night. The win improves Mission Veterans to 4-0 in district play.
But back to game five, with Sharyland Pioneer leading 14-12 and just one point away from losing the match, Carrillo called time out. She huddled the team, then pulled out her clipboard and drew the outline of a heart and filled it in.
“They know what that means. Play with a lot of heart, play together and get the job done,” she said. “You know at that point, both teams are very intense. I was just trying to reach out to their character. I was trying to get them to play with their inner souls and their hearts. That will get the job done over any skill to me.”
Not that they didn’t have skills.
Senior captain Alex Jimenez spearheaded a talented Lady Patriots squad that never gave up. The middle blocker was key in Veterans’ comeback bid with an array of powerful kills and blocks at the most opportune times. Jackie Howell, another returning letterman, also came through in the clutch. Howell’s three kills accounted for three of the Lady Patriots’ four straight points that ended game five.
“We never stopped playing and we never gave up, and that was what got us to win the final game,” said Jimenez, who finished with 15 kills and five blocks. “This (Pioneer) is our biggest competition. We knew this was going to be a tough game.”
Pioneer made it tough, to be sure. Laura Cavazos’ squad jumped out to a 1-0 game lead, then after giving up game 2, edged the Lady Patriots in game three to go up 2-1. But they couldn’t close the deal.
Mission Veterans stormed back to take game four, 25-13, and in the final game it was nip and tuck almost the entire way until Pioneer took what looked like a commanding 14-12 lead. That prompted Mission Veterans’ comeback, dealing Pioneer its first district loss (2-1).
“As a third-year school, we are still out to prove ourselves. We would like to get a first program win against what we call a powerhouse team in Mission Vets,” Cavazos said. “I thought our girls did a great job in coming out strong and bouncing back from a loss to them earlier in the season in the quarterfinals of our tournament (earlier this season). That’s all I could ask for.”
Cavazos said her team impressed despite not having the depth or experience of some other squads. Audry Smith did her part. The junior captain led Pioneer with 13 kills, 28 assists and 29 digs and kept the entire Lady Diamondbacks team involved. Mariah Youngblood also played well with 15 kills and nine digs.
The Lady Patriots also got a great game from Makenzie Gerlach, whose powerful service game piled up points. Gerlach also had nine kills.