NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — The second set was tied 22-22. McAllen Rowe’s lead had disappeared. The McAllen Memorial Mustangs wouldn’t be denied in that game or any other game during Saturday afternoon’s match at Rowe High School.
The Mustangs got back in the driver’s seat during the second frame and eventually put the set away 27-25 on a Jocelynn Everage hit that rolled along the net and fell in the Warriors’ half.
Memorial held strong against Rowe to win in a sweep 25-16, 27-25, 26-24 and improve to 7-0 in district play, including a win over each opponent in 30-6A. Rowe fell to 6-1 in league play.
Junior setter Sydney Marburger led the match with 36 assists. She said her team knew that slowing Rowe’s primary offensive threat, senior Jackelyn Alanis, would be paramount.
“We knew they were going to come out swinging, especially Jackie,” Marburger said. “We know she swings really hard. All the defensive players made my job really easy, personally, because we had such great passes on her serves, on her swings. Everyone on my team was just ready. Low and ready for the ball.”
Alanis still had some success, but her struggles were amplified by her volume of swings. Some uncharacteristic hits into the net during the first set had a lot to do with the lone lopsided score.
She finished with 20 kills, four aces and 17 digs. She was honored during the match for reaching her 2,000th kill in three years with the Warriors. After the game, she said her team usually takes a while to get going. Saturday took a little too long.
“It’s very important, because we know she’s a great hitter, a strong hitter and a leader on her team,” Memorial’s Everage said after the win. “We know that with that, we have to not only combat it, but go full force ahead.”
Kills by Rowe’s secondary attack were hard to come by. Anna Honrubia had seven kills and 13 digs. Jewel Palomo led the team with 14 assists.
“We forced on our defense and where Jackie was at,” senior Valeria Trevino said. “She gave us a clue where she was going to hit, because she was facing that way. We just had to be ready to pick up the ball and, from there, play it out.”
Memorial’s attack was varied, and that was the winning recipe. Everage led the way with 19 kills. Trevino added 11 kills. With block kills, three aces and plenty of errors from the Warriors, the Mustangs rarely trailed.
“We have so many great hitters, so it’s so awesome that we have a lot of options, cause they can distract their blockers,” Marburger said. “Everyone’s able to put the ball away. Every single one of our hitters is capable of putting it down.”
The Mustangs won thanks to digging by committee.
Sydney Marburger led the team with 15 digs. Libero Sophie Villarreal added 11 digs, while Everage had 10. Dylann Guerra, Macy Henderson and Trevino pitched in with nine each.
“We don’t want to let anything drop, so we just hustle for everything,” Trevino said.