MISSION — Jordan Bravo is extremely quiet and unassuming.

She’s definitely an athlete who lets her actions speak for her. That was evident Tuesday night as the Sharyland Pioneer 5-foot-10 senior middle hitter emphatically hammered away three of the final four to lead the Diamondbacks to an intense 25-19, 17-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-6 District 31-5A victory over McAllen High in a battle of state-ranked teams.

The match, played in front of a large and at time raucous crowd, took nearly 2.5 hours to complete. After four grueling sets, setter Natalie Reyes opened with a pair of aces, and Bravo finished with a quick kill in the middle, a slide kill and the game-winning kill.

“In the huddle, we were saying first to five, first to 10,” said Bravo, who was The Monitor’s 2020 All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year. “Coach was telling us to keep running me, that three (a zone on the court) was open and to keep transitioning off the net.”

McHi fell to 26-4 on the season, losing twice to both Sharyland Pioneer and McAllen Rowe, who upended the Bulldogs on Saturday. Tuesday’s loss was the first time since the 2015-16 season that McHi lost back-to-back district matches.

McHi came out with a different look, including running a 5-1 scheme compared to most of the season where they ran a 6-2.

“My job is to put these girls in a position to succeed,” first-year head coach Michael Smith said. “We have a talented group of girls and even on Monday at practice, they were ready for some changes and challenges knowing Pioneer was at our game Saturday and saw some so we were offering some different looks.”

This was, by no means a match of “rainbow kills” and soft play. McHi’s “big four” hitters of Celina Saenz, Ada Sadlier, Andrea Tovar and Shiela Zamora traded bombs and blocks with Pioneer’s Bravo, Lorelai Hill, Mariana Treviño, Katie Salazar and Thalia Ochoa. Four of Pioneers hitters finished in double digit kills with Salazar leading the way at 13. Ochoa missed double digits by one with 9.

Lizzy Fina added 52 digs and setter Natalie Reyes had 51 assists, 5 aces, 5 kills, 23 digs and 5 blocks based on stats provided by Pioneer.

As of Wednesday morning, stats were not provided from McAllen High.

Bravo’s kill however, was the difference in a back and forth match where both sides played solid defense and didn’t let up when it came to attacking.

“Sometimes I see the opening especially on my slide if they’re blocking the line or not,” Bravo said. “The middle was usually late to the block on the slide and so the middle was open and usually the straight line is open.

“It was nerve-wracking but we kept confident and encouraging each other and pushing points.

Pioneer improved to 25-2 overall and 2-0 in district play. Going into Tuesday’s match, the Diamondbacks were ranked No. 7 in Monday’s Texas Girls Coaches Association State Volleyball Poll. McAllen Rowe (No. 11), Sharyland High (No. 16) and McHi (No. 17) were also ranked from District 31-5A. McAllen Memorial could also see itself in the poll soon with a 21-10 overall record after a five-set win over Sharyland High on Tuesday.

“We brought it then they brought it back and that’s this district,” Smith said. “There are five teams in this district that will come at you every single night and this was an example of it. In this district you have five teams that would win any other district in the Valley.

“The five of us, we can play and it’s gonna be a dogfight and a battle. You have to bring it every night and have to do what you can on the away floor and win at home.”

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McAllen Rowe became the fourth team from District 31-5A to be ranked statewide when the Texas Girls Coaches Association released their most recent volleyball polls Monday.

The Valley has seven teams throughout the different polls, which ranks classes 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A separately and classes 1A/2A together.

The Warriors, 21-4 according to the poll, defeated then-No. 4 McAllen High in four sets Saturday and debuted in the poll Monday at No. 11. It was the second time Rowe knocked off McHi, and the Warriors are responsible for two of the Bulldogs’ three losses this season.

McHi (26-3) however remained solidly in the poll, coming in at No. 17, one spot behind Sharyland High at 24-7.

Sharyland Pioneer (24-2) was the highest-ranked team among Valley teams in any classification, coming in with a 24-2 record, at No. 7. The Diamondbacks host the Bulldogs on Tuesday.

Mission Veterans (19-6) also remained in the poll for the third week at 19-6 and ranked No. 23.

Harlingen (23-4) was ranked for the second straight week, at No. 14, despite falling to McAllen Rowe last week when the Cardinals were No. 18.

San Isidro landed at No. 10 this week and is 20-4.

Below is the complete TGCA high school volleyball poll.

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Class 2A (includes Class 1A)

1. Crawford 25-6

2. Bosqueville 24-0

3. Beckville 28-4

4. Iola 23-7

5. Wink 24-3

6. Fayetteville 27-1

7. Thrall 20-7

8. Bremond 24-3

9. Schulenburg 20-8

10. San Isidro 20-4

11. Albany 16-3

12. Veribest 20-4

13. Benjamin 20-6

14. Blum 14-11

15. Tom Bean 17-4

16. Cayuga 19-5

17. Yorktown 16-5

18. Valley Mills 12-3

19. D’Hanis 17-8

20. Frost 14-5

21. Evadale 21-9

22. Miami 15-7

23. Prairie Valley 12-4

24. Overton 15-8

25. Plains 12-5

Class 3A

1. White Oak 23-1

2. East Bernard 27-1

3. Harmony 17-1

4. Bushland 16-3

5. Gunter 17-5

6. Holliday 23-5

7. Hardin 23-5

8. Shallowater 24-3

9. Troy 17-4

10. Lorena 21-4

11. Boyd 15-4

12. West Rusk 18-4

13. Blue Ridge 15-2

14. Woodville 14-3

15. Fairfield 20-6

16. Paradise 20-6

17. Mount Vernon 14-3

18. Scurry-Rosser 16-4

19. S&S Consolidated 17-5

20. Columbus 20-7

21. Lexington 23-8

22. Lyford 14-4

23. Brazos 22-8

24. Hallettsville 15-6

25. Anderson-Shiro 17-4

Class 4A

1. Farmersville 27-1

2. Hereford 29-2

3. Kennedale 22-3

4. Pleasanton 25-2

5. Celina 24-1

6. Carthage 23-4

7. Aubrey 16-5

8. Wimberly 17-6

9. Navasota 21-5

10. Bridge City 25-4

11. Bellville 25-8

12. Decatur 17-9

13. Mount Vernon 14-3

14. Greenwood 17-4

15. Needville 17-9

16. Ferris 15-4

17. Springtown 16-8

18. Brownwood 15

19. Gatesville 15-5

20. Rockport-Fulton 17-8

21. Alvarado 14-4

22. Navarro 20-7

23. Stephenville 18-8

24. Calallen 1907

25. San Elizario 16-6

Class 5A

1. Dallas Highland Park 23-5

2. Lucas Lovejoy 22-5

3. College Station 24-2

4. New Braunfels Canyon 26-7

5. Leander Rouse 20-11

6. Pflugerville Hendrickson 25-5

7. Mission Pioneer 24-2

8. Austin Anderson 18-4

9. Friendswood 23-6

10. Frisco Reedy 16-5

11. McAllen Rowe 21-4

12. Justin Northwest 15-8

13. Gregory-Portland 24-7

14. Dripping Springs 21-15

15. Lufkin 24-4

16. Mission Sharyland 24-7

17. McAllen 26-3

18. Barbers Hill 25-3

19. El Paso Burges 15-4

20. Midlothian 22-7

21. Colleyville Heritage 24-9

22. Brenham 21-10

23. Mission Veterans Memorial 19-6

24. Laredo Martin 16-6

25. Denton 20-9

Class 6A

1. V.R. Eaton 22-1

2. Flower Mound 24-3

3. San Antonio Brandeis 28-2

4. Arlington Martin 22-2

5. Pearland Dawson 26-4

6. Cypress Ranch 25-3

7. El Paso Franklin 28-3

8. Austin 25-5

9. Prosper 20-7

10. The Woodlands 28-4

11. Smithson Valley 21-4

12. Plano West 17-5

13. Austin Lake Travis 28-9

14. Harlingen 23-4

15. San Marcos 25-5

16. Desoto 22-3

17. San Antonio Reagan 28-6

18. Katy Tompkins 21-5

19. Round Rock 24-9

20. Cedar Ridge 30-5

21. Ridge Point 20-9

22. Coppell 20-4

23. Boyd 16-4

24. College Park 16-3

25. Laredo United 19-4

While the McAllen Rowe defense was covering ground better than grass covers Centre Court at Wimbledon, the Warriors also displayed a much improved offensive scheme Saturday.

The result was a 25-22, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21 win over city rival McAllen High in the District 31-5A opener for both teams.

The victory improves Rowe to 22-5 on the year and 1-0 in district. Meanwhile, McHi drops to 26-3, two of the losses coming at the hands of Rowe. The Bulldogs are 0-1 in district.

The Warriors’ vaunted defense was true to form, bodies diving and arms flailing all over the court, keeping balls alive that fans from both sides thought were floor bound. Libero Ariana Castro collected 33 digs, while Mia Mata had 27 and Nila Cortez and Vanessa Morales added 14 and 13, respectively.

“I’m a real believer that everything begins with defense,” McAllen Rowe head coach Magda Canales said. “You cannot have one with out the other but, in my personal opinion, it starts with defense. The girls were excellent there today.”

But the offense wasn’t too shabby, either, for the Warriors. Stats provided from each school showed Rowe with 54 kills compared to 32 for McHi.

Leading the way offensively for Rowe was junior star outside hitter Mia Mata with a match high 14 kills. It was, however, junior outside hitter Natalia Higaredia, playing opposite Mata in the rotation, who provided her team with some extra firepower, blistering 13 kills. Morales added eight and Jillian Pantillano contributed seven.

“We have absolutely gotten so much better with our training and our communication,” Higaredia said. “I’ve gotten so much more confidence within myself and the setter and communicating with them what I want. The offense was great today. And having a trust with our defense is an absolute priority.”

McHi seemed to have found an effective strategy during the second set, as Ada Sadlier and Celina Saenz found openings, often splitting the Rowe back row for kills. The Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to grab a 15-8 lead and hold onto the second-set victory.

After making some adjustments of their own, it was almost all Rowe, overcoming a 6-2 deficit during the third with a 10-0 run, including two of Krystal de la Rosa’s match-leading 10 blocks, to go up 12-6 and roll to a 25-17 win.

“We practice different shots and as much as the crowd and everyone wants the power, there’s more to volleyball than that,” Canales said. “We strategically look for what’s open. I continuously tell them to look on the other side of the net. Study your opponent. When they adjust — and McHi did adjust —look at what is given and then it’s our turn to adjust.”

The Bulldogs also hurt their cause with 10 service errors, compared to just two for the Warriors.

“I trust my players fully to know where the serve needs to be placed and they do a good job on that,” Canales said. “I’ve been preaching and teaching that they are on the ones on the court, they can see what’s open and see the opponent face so you pick the spot. It seems to give them a little more confidence and ownership on their serve.”

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Harlingen High made its debut at No. 18 in Class 6A in the most recent Texas Girls Coaches Association poll released Monday.

The Cardinals (21-4 according to the TGCA) are led by a pair of thunderous hitters in juniors Julianna Bryant and Casey Vidal. Harlingen went 1-1 last week, but its win came against Sharyland High (22-7), ranked at No. 20 in the Class 5A TGCA poll. Its loss came to McAllen Rowe in straight sets Saturday. Earlier in the season, the Cardinals lost to Sharyland Pioneer but bounced back to easily win the silver bracket of the Mission High tournament.

District 31-5A continued to have the most teams ranked with three. McAllen High (26-2) climbed one spot to No. 4, behind only Dallas Highland Park (20-5), Lucas Lovejoy (20-5) and College Station (22-2). The Bulldogs claimed sweeps over Harlingen South and Los Fresnos last week and begin district play Saturday at McAllen Rowe. The Warriors are one of the two teams to beat McHi, doing so at the McAllen Poundfest tournament. Sharyland Pioneer (22-2), the other team to beat the Bulldogs, are No. 11 in the state rankings.

Also remaining in the Class 5A poll, this week at No. 17, is Mission Veterans (17-5). The Patriots are looking for their 10th straight district title.

San Isidro (18-4) remained at No. 11 in the Class 1A-2A poll.

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VALLEY HS VOLLEYBALL

Tuesday’s Matches

District 31-6A

PSJA High def. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 25-6, 25-10, 25-11

Edinburg Vela def. La Joya High 25-6, 25-6, 26-24

Edinburg High def. Edinburg Economedes 25-18, 25-17, 25-23

Non-District

McAllen Memorial def. Los Fresnos 25-19, 25-16, 25-12

McAllen High def. Harlingen South 25-9, 25-11, 25-14

Laredo Alexander def. McAllen Rowe 25-16, 221-25, 25-17, 25-18

Sharyland Pioneer def. Brownsville Hanna 25-16 25-15 25-12

Harlingen High def. Sharyland High 25-23, 25-17, 25-21

Donna High def. Valley View 25-11, 25-15, 25-16

La Feria def. Weslaco East 25-20, 25-15, 26-24

PSJA Memorial def. Mercedes 25-12, 25-22, 25-20

Mission Veterans def. Brownsville Porter 25-18, 25-12, 25-13

San Isidro def. Port Isabel 25-8, 25-12, 25-11

VALLEY HS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARIES

Tuesday’s Matches

District 31-6A

PSJA HIGH DEF. LA JOYA JUAREZ-LINCOLN

25-6, 25-10, 25-11

PSJA HIGH — Johanna Montelongo 9 kills, 5 aces, 9 digs; Serenity Lopez 20 digs, 2 aces; Kaylah Hernandez 6 kills, 3 digs, 4 blocks; Abigail Quinones 5 kills; Jocelyn Serna 3 kills, 3 aces, 1 dig; Alexa Carranza 3 aces, 4 digs, 14 assists; Victoria Gonzalez 1 ace, 2 digs, 8 assists.

JUAREZ-LINCOLN — Not reported.

RECORDS — PSJA High 13-8, 1-0.

EDINBUIRG VELA DEF. LA JOYA HIGH

25-6, 25-6, 26-24

EDINBURG VELA — Amaria Cruz 6 points, 13 digs; Abby Zamora 23 points, 9 aces; Samantha Villalogos 2 kills, 4 blocks; Maria Sanchez 12 points, 2 aces, 9 digs, 1 assist; Emily Gonzalez 4 kills, 4 points, 3 digs; Fey Vasquez 6 kills, 4 digs, 5 points; Laura Guizar 6 assists, 11 points, 5 aces, 2 digs; Melanie Garcia 2 digs; Danika Verdooren 3 kills, 1 assist, 1 dig; Dayanne Ramos 5 kills, 4 points, 2 digs; Gaby Garcia 7 digs, 2 points.

LA JOYA HIGH — Not reported.

RECORDS Edinburg Vela 2-0 in district.

EDINBURG HIGH DEF. EDINBURG ECONOMEDES

25-18, 25-17, 25-23

EDINBURG HIGH — Arianna Guerra 16 Digs; Jazmin Cuellar 15 kills, 5 blocks, 2 aces, 6 digs; Natalie Hernandez 7 klls, 22 digs, 1 ace; Mia Dominguez 14 kills, 12 digs, 1 ace; Emily Carranco 5 kills, 9 blocks, 11 digs, 1 ace; Samantha Saenz 4 kills, 4 blocks, 6 digs; Sailey Vega 39 assists, 18 digs, 2 kills, 1 ace; Ella Ramirez 10 digs; Miranda Reyes 7 digs.

ECONOMEDES — Nnot reported.

RECORDS — Edinburg High 14-8 overall, 2-0 in district.

Non-District

MCALLEN MEMORIAL DEF. LOS FRESNOS

25-19, 25-16, 25-12

MCALLEN MEMORIAL — Madison Amaya 4 aces, 15 assists; Amare Hernansez 11 kills; Madisyn Sosa 5 kills; Leah Garcia 5 kills.

LOS FRESNOS — Not reported.

RECORDS — McAllen Memorial 18-10 overall; Los Fresnos 14-10 overall.

MCALLEN HIGH DEF. HARLINGEN SOUTH

25-9, 25-11, 25-14

MCALLEN HIGH — Ada Sadlier 12 kills, 1 block, 5 digs; Andrea Tovar 4 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks; Leah McClenny 19 digs; Shiela Zamora 1 kill, 2 digs, 1 block; Giuli OPrnelas 15 digs; Sharian Ruiz 3 digs; Celina Saenz 10 kills, 11 digs; Anahi Muñoz 3 assists, 3 digs; Kaydence Pritchard 1 kill, 11 assists, 3 digs; Aleah Saenz 14 assists, 7 digs; Miranda Quintanilla 5 digs; .

HARLINGEN SOUTH — Not reported.

RECORDS McAllen High 25-2 overall.

LAREDO ALEXANDER DEF. MCALLEN ROWE

25-16, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18

MCALLEN ROWE — Ariana Castro 1 assist, 22 digs, 1 ace; Brianna Sanchez 1 kill, 1 dig, 3 blocks; Jill Pantillano 1 kill, 4 digs, 4 blocks; Krystal De La Rosa 1 kill, 1 ace, 1 block; Mia Mata 13 kills, 1 ace, 1 block; 15 digs; Natalia Higareda 9 kills, 5 digs, 1 block; Nila Cortez 13 digs; Vanessa Morales 5 kills, 10 assists, 7 digs; Yazmin Muñoz 1 kill, 15 assists, 5 digs

LAREDO ALEXANDER — Not reported.

RECORDS — Not reported.

SHARYLAND PIONEER DEF. BROWNSVILLE HANNA

25-16, 25-15, 25-12

SHARYLAND PIONEER — Lorelai Hill 13 kills, 1 block, 3 digs; Natalie Reyes 2 aces, 41 assists, 14 digs; Lizza Fina 9 aces, 29 digs; Thalia Ochoa 13 kills, 2 blocks; Katie Salazar 8 kills, 7 digs; Jada Lopez 2 aces, 7 digs; Jordan Bravo 5 kills, 1 block.

BROWNSVILLE HANNA — Not reported.

RECORDS — Sharyland Pioneer 23-2.

LA FERIA DEF. WESLACO EAST

25-20, 25-15, 26-24

LA FERIA — Alani Garza 7 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace; Allison Rosales 5 kills, 2 digs; Angelina Lopez 2 digs, 8 assists; Diana Zuniga 5 kills, 3 digs; Mariah Patlan 7 assists; Angelina Treviño 2 blocks, 2 aces, 5 kills.

WESLACO EAST — Not reported.

RECORDS — La Feria 10-11 overall.

MISSION VETERANS DEF. BROWNSVILLE PORTER

25-18, 25-12, 25-13

MISSION VETERANS — Rylie Barnett 18 kills, 4 aces 1 block; Carla Guerrero 14 kills; Jackie Niñ 1 kill, 17 digs; Evelyn Vela 1 kill, 20 assists, 1 ace; Michaela Perez 5 kills, 10 assists, 4 aces, 14 dgs.

BROWNSVILLE PORTER — Not reported.

RECORDS — Mission Veterans 18-5.

SAN ISIDRO DEF. PORT ISABEL

25-8, 25-12, 25-11

SAN ISIDRO — Mia Alvarado 7 kills, 12 aces; Alex Garcia 6 kills; Nicole Delgado 16 assists.

PORT ISABEL — Not reported.

RECORDS — San Isidro 17-4 overall.

MCALLEN — McAllen Memorial head coach Ashley Doffing wanted to see how her big hitters fared against Los Fresnos, who may have the tallest group of blockers in the Rio Grande Valley.

Likewise, Falcons head coach Anissa Lucio wanted so see how her blockers took the challenge facing a Memorial arsenal of big hitters.

The big hitters won Tuesday night’s non-district battle, as Amare Hernandez collected 12 kills, while Leah Garcia and Madisyn Sosa added five apiece, and Memorial improved to 18-10 with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-13 sweep at McAllen Memorial High School.

Despite the loss, Lucio, in her first year leading the Falcons, said matches against some of the Valley powerhouses are critical for her young team. Her team gets another power to play Saturday, with McAllen High visiting the Falcons.

“We want to play the top teams in the Valley, the McAllens and others like that,” Lucio said. “This was a good experience, something that we can learn from and continue to use. We need to take advantage of the height we have and learn how to use it to our advantage. The girls are coming around, especially playing these fast offenses, and this was good for us tonight.”

Olivia Parra and Dakota Martinez, and sophomore Shiloh Jones provide some tough defense at times at the net against the Memorial onslaught of hitters, but the Mustangs simply kept attacking. Overall, the Falcons couldn’t find a response.

Los Fresnos dropped to 14-10 on the season.

“I was excited to see how the girls would do against a tall team like this and for us to be able to see the block on the other side and make the adjustment and continue to swing away,” Doffing said. “But what I’m really looking for is the team to grow. They didn’t get a whole season last year so that’s what I’d like to see.

“I think they’re growing at the right time with 11 days before district.”

Both sides traded off points with their strengths leading the way. A kill from Parra and block by Jones gave Los Fresnos an 11-10 lead during the first set. However, after a booming kill by Hernandez and some tough serves from libero Cassie Falcon and the Mustangs’ boomers started to get into rhythm.

“They key for us now it to continue to communication and work as one,” Doffing said. “We can’t be six individuals out there. Playing a team like Los Fresnos just helps us get better.”

Madison Amaya added four aces and 15 assists and the Mustangs’ service game help set up their offense, keeping Los Fresnos from attacking and giving Memorial several shots at taking advantage of free balls with multiple attacks the remainder of the night.

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Three Rio Grande Valley teams made their debut in the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association volleyball state high school poll released Monday morning.

District 31-5A’s Sharyland Pioneer and Sharyland High cracked the top 20 poll. Pioneer, with an 18-2 record according to the TGCA, and winners of the Sharyland ISD volleyball tournament over the weekend, debuted at No. 12. Sharyland High (20-5) broke in at No. 20 and Mission Veterans appeared at No. 18.

McAllen High, also from District 31-5A, remained at No. 6 with a 24-2 record.

Pioneer defeated both McHi and Sharyland in straight sets over the weekend. The Diamondbacks downed their city rivals in the semifinals and the Bulldogs in the championship. It was the second straight tournament championship for Pioneer.

McHi hosts Harlingen South at 6:30 p.m. today while Harlingen High visits Sharyland High at 7:30 p.m. and Pioneer treks to Brownsville Hanna for a 7 p.m. start. Mission Veterans hosts Brownsville Porter for a 7 p.m.matchup. Those games are all non-district contests.

San Isidro is ranked No. 11 in the latest Class 1A-2A poll. It’s the second straight week San Isidro has been ranked. The Tigers return to action at 6 p.m. today at home against Port Isabel.

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MISSION — McAllen High spent the early portion of Friday with several “pull a rabbit out of the magic hat” type of saves as it clawed, scratched and dug its way to victories in the first two matches during the second day of pool play at the Sharyland Volleyball Tournament.

Ada Sadlier and Celina Saenz changed that in what could be considered the premiere matchup of the day — McHi, with a 22-1 record, versus District 31-5A foe Sharyland High with a 22-3 mark.

Saenz, one of the toughest and most consistent hitters in the Valley, tied the game at 5 with a kill and McHi went on a 20-12 run to claim a first set 25-17 win. Then, Sadlier had three kills within the first five points of the second set, as the Bulldogs improved to 6-0 in the tournament with a 25-17, 25-18 win over the Rattlers. It was McHi’s second victory over the Rattlers during the tournament portion of the season.

McHi struggled throughout its first two games against Brownsville Veterans, losing the first set 26-24 and trailing in the second 18-11, before a ferocious comeback led to a 26-24 win and was followed with a 15-5 victory in the third set. The Bulldogs then battled again against Edinburg Vela in the first set before pulling off a 25-22, 25-14 win to set up the showdown with Sharyland High.

In the other pool to decide who would advance to today’s gold bracket, Sharyland Pioneer, another District 31-5A power, swept San Benito, Brownsville Rivera and Harlingen High to also go 6-0 during the two days of pool play. The Diamondbacks didn’t drop a set through the first two days.

All games today will be played at Sharyland Pioneer. In the gold bracket, McHi and Rivera will kick off the day at 9 a.m., Sharyland High and city rival Sharyland Pioneer will play at 10 a.m. and the championship match is scheduled for noon.

Sadlier, one of the Bulldogs’ big four hitters, missed the previous two weeks but returned this week.

“I think she’s done a great job of coming in and taking her role back in the offense,” McHi first-year head coach Michael Smith said. “We knew she would have a big role this season. It takes a lot of pressure off some of the other girls. I’m not sure she’s even 100%.”

Sadlier, who finished with five kills against Sharyland, one behind Celina Saenz with six, said she spent a lot of time thinking and watching film during her two-week quarantine.

“It felt really, really good to support my team in that way and make such a statement,” she said. “To have the opportunity to get some of that energy out there and make a statement was great.”

The Bulldogs also kept the hard-hitting Rattlers off their game for the most part with aggressive serves from Kaydence Pritchard and Aleah Saenz, and some stubborn defense from Sharian Ruiz and Giuli Ornelas.

In fact, while the offense started slow it was those other two areas that helped the No. 6-ranked volleyball team in the state in Class 5A, according to the Texas Girls Coaches Association, keep rallies alive — or slow other teams from cranking up their offense consistently.

“One of the things I tell them before every single set is that we have to do this together and today we had to have that mindset,” Smith said. “I put a lot of pressure to be able to serve tough and the girls have done a great job executing that this weekend.

“We want to keep the other team out of system and are excited when the other team has to ball to pick it up and punish their mistakes and make sure we make the other team do something that’s difficult for them to do.”

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MISSION — District 31-5A teams flexed their muscles once again during the non-district portion of the volleyball season as Sharyland High, Sharyland Pioneer and McAllen High all swept their competition during the first day of pool play in the Sharyland Volleyball Tournament on Thursday at Sharyland High and Sharyland Pioneer.

Harlingen High also won its pool, one of three teams to go 2-1 in pool play but capturing the top seed due to tiebreakers.

Sharyland High improved to 19-3 with straight set victories over San Benito, Mercedes and Brownsville Hanna.

Meanwhile, Sharyland Pioneer downed Weslaco High, Edinburg Vela and Donna High. Lorelai Hill led the Diamondbacks with 31 kills through the three matches. Pioneer improved to 16-2 on the season.

McHi rolled through PSJA Southwest, Edinburg Economedes and Brownsville Rivera to improve to 20-1. The Bulldogs are the only Valley Class 5A team ranked in the state at No. 6, according to the most recent Texas Girls Coaches Association poll. The Bulldogs’ only loss came during a three-set battle against yet another district power, McAllen Rowe, at the McAllen Poundfest tournament.

District 31-5A’s top teams have had a great start to their season. Last weekend, Sharyland High won the Sinton volleyball tournament, downing No. 9 Corpus Christi Flour Bluff in straight sets. Meanwhile, McHi won the San Antonio ISD tournament, dropping just one set throughout the event. Sharyland High also showed some impressive play, defeating Edinburg High and Harlingen High en route to a sweep over Mission Veterans in the championship of the Mission High volleyball tournament.

Second-round play takes place today with Sharyland Pioneer hosting Pool A, which includes Pioneer, Harlingen High, San Benito and Brownsville Rivera. Sharyland High hosts Pool B with Sharyland High, McAllen High, Edinburg Vela and Brownsville Veterans; Pool C with Donna High, Edinburg north, Mercedes and PSJA Southwest and Pool D with Brownsville Hanna, Edinburg Economedes, Weslaco High and Weslaco East. Games begin at noon for all the pools.

The bracket play championship takes place Saturday with times and sites to be announced.

PHARR — During the first set of the District 31-6A volleyball opener between PSJA North and Edinburg Vela, it was clear if one team “clicked” before the other, it might be able to ride that momentum all the way to victory.

With North leading 10-6 in the first set, something did click, but for Vela — and the SaberCats rode that momentum to a 25-17, 25-16, 25-22 victory over the Raiders on Tuesday at the PSJA North gym.

Throughout the match, Vela played more confident, going from a conservative start to being much more of the aggressor. Led by multiple bigs in the middle, a defense that looked more comfortable as the match progressed and a freshman setter who had an electric night serving, the SaberCats rolled through the first two sets, finishing the first set on a 19-7 run.

“I think both were a little nervous before the match, with this first big district game,” Vela head coach Araceli Ortega said. “We knew they would be aggressive and both of us wanted to start 1-0 in district.”

PSJA North struggled on the service end with several errors in each set. Vela capitalized on it as juniors Fey Vasquez and Samantha Villalobos and sophomore Danika Verdooren increased the number of attacks while senior libero Maria Sanchez held the defense steady in the back row.

“We needed to take advantage of those errors and we were trying to get around that block. We have a lot of hitters and we want to spread the ball around more and move the block,” Ortega said. “Some matches it just takes us a little longer to get going.”

The second set was nearly a mirror image of the first. Tied at 6, Vela went on a 19-10 run. During that set, freshman Abby Zamora collected five of her team-high 19 points from the service line in one run, three of them unable to be returned and one that hit the tape and dribbled over. It was during that run that the Vela offense seemed to find their groove with multiple attackers making approaches to the net in effort to keep the Raiders off balance.

The Raiders trailed in the third set 24-14 before something also clicked with them and they went on an eight-point run before Vela was able to put the match away.

“We got stuck in a couple rotations we couldn’t get out of,” Ortega said. “We need to get mentally strong. We have young girls on the team but when it gets tough we need to see who could come through. It’s a tough district.”

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