BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN – Sometimes, a box score doesn’t tell the whole story.
McAllen Rowe won its non-district match against Brownsville Rivera 25-19, 25-13, 28-26 on Tuesday night, but Rowe had to scratch and claw to close out the match on top.
“We lost a little focus in the second game, but we finished strong toward the end,” Rowe coach Magda Canales said. “Our first line of defense was a little weak. We really struggled to read their hitters and get a block.”
If the second game was a struggle, the third was an all-out war. Rowe (15-5) jumped out to a 5-1 lead before Rivera responded with a 5-0 run to take a 6-5 edge. Rowe and Rivera would go back and forth the rest of the set, trading nine more ties.
“We really worked together and kept pushing point by point,” Rowe outside hitter Jackelyn Alanis said. “We were hoping to come out and win the set, and we did.”
Brownsville Rivera (11-7) coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra would have liked to see a consistent effort from her team.
“Nikki Rowe has a really good team, and I told the girls, ‘Whatever happens, happens. It’s going to be a good game. We need to fight,’” Avelar-Guerra said. “We’re at a point now where we’re a little up and down. We play well, and then we kind of lose it. I know they have what it takes to win. They just get a little rattled every once in a while.”
Canales and her team will hop on a bus at 7 a.m. Friday morning bound for Laredo to participate in this weekend’s Lady Longhorn Volleyball Fest. The Warriors expect to arrive in Laredo in time for their first pool play match at noon against Del Rio.
“We’ll bring them in early enough and try and see if they need anything extra we need to take care of before the games,” Canales said.
The Lady Longhorns Volleyball Fest will feature eight other Valley programs in addition to Rowe including Mission Veterans, Edcouch-Elsa, PSJA Memorial and McAllen Memorial.
“We need the competition,” Canales said. “We cannot match the level of stress that we put on these girls during practice with games against any random team. I also try and see which teams went to the playoffs last year, and those are the teams that I target for scheduling.”
With Rowe winning the Poundfest tournament a week and a half ago and McHi capturing the San Antonio ISD tournament over the weekend, Valley volleyball is gaining visibility this season.
“We want to expose our kids to the level of play they’re showing us in San Antonio or Laredo so that when the playoffs come around, our kids will be ready,” Canales said.