BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
WESLACO — Down two sets to one and 16-10 in the fourth set, the Sharyland High Rattlers appeared to be out of options against Brownsville Veterans Memorial.
But then, Aydee Hinojosa set up Tristen Maddox for a quick hit, and the sophomore middle blocker killed it. That play sparked a 15-4 rally to win the set, and the Rattlers caught fire and never looked back as they went on to score an emotional 25-23, 23-25, 18-25, 25-20, 15-12 bi-district victory over the Chargers on Monday night in Weslaco.
Maddox went on to score several more quick-hit kills, powerful outside hitter Estefania Hinojosa came alive in fifth set, and setter Melanie Lazos set the tempo to wrest control of the match and advance Sharyland (24-12 overall) into the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. The Rattlers area opponent was yet to be determined Monday night.
“We’ve always had comebacks, but nothing like this,” said Lazos, who finished with 27 assists. “We just told each other, ‘Go and give it our best. Whatever happens, happens. God always has a plan for us.’”
Sharyland did not plan to go down and be forced to win two of three sets, but that’s exactly what happened. Undefeated District 32-5A champion Brownsville Veterans played well throughout the match but just couldn’t close out the fourth set. The Chargers were particularly vulnerable when high-flying kill leader Cynthia Garcia (19 kills) rotated to the bench.
In pivotal game four, Garcia sat with Brownsville Veterans leading 18-15. Sharyland went on a 10-2 run in her absence and evened the score at two sets each. In game five, the Lazos-Hinojosa combination was revived from the first set and scored five points to lead the Rattlers.
The 5-foot-11 Hinojosa, who came into the game with 329 kills, added 21 more against the Chargers, including nine in the first set. The junior was just too tall and powerful for Brownsville Veterans’ defenders to handle. She was almost exclusively set by Lazos.
“We set that lineup actually from the beginning of the season to make sure that she (Lazos) had her (Hinojosa), because she takes a little higher ball, and that takes a little more time to work with,” Sharyland coach Raul Castillo said.
For senior-laden Brownsville Veterans, the loss was a bitter pill to take after 14 straight district wins (24-9 overall). During the regular season, Brownsville Veterans struggled against Upper Valley teams, dropping matches to McAllen High twice, McAllen Rowe, Mission Veterans and even Sharyland High on Aug. 19.
“Our team is actually really good, and I believe we could have kept going in the playoffs and could have done amazing things,” middle blocker Rebecca Cardenas said. “It was an amazing season. I think we accomplished a lot as a team.”