By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — It was the perfect test for No. 25 Los Fresnos — a showdown with No. 22 McAllen High between two teams widely regarded to be the best in the Rio Grande Valley.
And on Saturday in a packed gym with two raucous student sections, the Lady Bulldogs (28-2) left no doubt about which team was going to carry the mantle, defeating the Lady Falcons (22-6) 24-26, 29-27, 25-15, 25-15.
McHi played without senior outside hitter Alexa Gonzalez, who missed the game due to a prior obligation. In her stead, the catalyst for the Lady Bulldogs was sophomore outside hitter Celina Saenz, who helped her team erase a 23-16 deficit and staved off several game points with three straight kills down the stretch to even the match at one game apiece and alter the direction of the contest.
“(Saenz) really came through for us,” McHi coach coach Paula Dodge said. “She’s got a lot of talent. It’s fun to see her really get going and hit the ball. She hit the ball hard today.”
Saenz also recorded a pair of aces in the third game. The Lady Bulldogs’ performance from behind the service line was pivotal during their comeback in the second game. With McHi trailing 23-17, sophomore middle blocker Ada Sadlier served during a stretch of four straight points, one of which came via an ace. Sadlier also chipped in three blocks.
“We don’t like to lose,” Dodge said. “We knew that we had to clean up the way that we were playing, making a lot of errors and playing a little bit conservative. We cleaned it up and got aggressive, and did what we needed to do.”
Senior middle hitter Jasmin Garcia (13 kills, two aces, one block) led Los Fresnos during the first game, opening up a 15-11 lead. McHi rallied to tie the game at 23, but the Lady Falcons closed the game out and went up 3-0 in the second game.
The Lady Bulldogs never trailed after the second game, opening up a 14-6 advantage in game three and closing it out on a kill by junior right side hitter Olivia Tite. McHi rolled to victory in the fourth game after getting out to a 5-1 start, and Los Fresnos never came within five points of the Lady Bulldogs for the remainder of the game.
Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said the turning point of the match was late in game two, as the Lady Falcons’ lead began to slip away.
“If we would have won that second game, I think it would have made a big difference,” Woods said. “We had them at game point, we just couldn’t hold on. … When we’re ahead, we need to stay ahead. We can’t let anybody back into the game.”
Woods said her players needed to hone in on their responsibilities and stick to the game plan, but added it was a great experience for her team to measure itself against the top-ranked team in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Lady Falcons’ coach said she was pleased with her team’s serving and hitting, but felt that her team’s struggles resulted from ineffective passing.
“(McHi) is No. 1 for a reason,” Woods said. “They have a great group of girls, and so do we. At any time, I think any one of us could beat each other, just on any given day.”