ALICE — McAllen Rowe could’ve easily rolled over during Tuesday’s Class 5A UIL area matchup with Victoria West.

Down two sets to none and 8-2 in the third set, however, something clicked.

It just couldn’t keep the momentum long enough, and Victoria West found its timing on the quick middle attacks to claim a 25-18, 25-6, 17-25, 25-21 win over McAllen Rowe to advance to the third round of the state playoffs.

Trailing 8-2 and 10-5 in the third set, Rowe went on a 13-2 run to take an 18-12 lead in front of a small, but loud crowd of McAllen faithful. Senior Anna Honrubia and sophomore Mia Mata led an outside attack, highlighting that run and Alexa Muñoz and Ashley Rodriguez each added a block to bring Rowe back into the match after a slow and not-so-clean start, having problems with West’s attack and difficulties with its serve receive during the first two sets.

“Once we made some adjustments on our blocks, the girls were able to gain some confidence and this is a sport all about momentum,” McAllen Rowe head coach Magda Canales said. “The defense played great and the girls fought; they left it all on the court tonight. I’m proud of them.”

While the Rowe Warriors were able to slow the outside attacks from Victoria West, the biggest difference came from West’s middle attack, led by Erin Reynolds and Carolina Cohen. The duo dominated the match, especially the final set, having their hands in on most of West’s scoring in the fourth set.

It was the fastest middle attack Rowe had seen all year, with sets barely reaching past the top of the net and Reynolds or Cohen there quickly for the attack.

“She (Reynolds) was going over our block a lot of times,” Canales said. “It was difficult to get any block on her. We haven’t faced a quick offense like that and it was one of the biggest adjustments we had to make.”

Victoria West head coach Alysia Hill said the key to their attack is not only being able to “spread the wealth” among a bevy of hitters but, more importantly, to have good defense and passing to give the setter an opportunity to effectively run the offense.

“Without the digs, there is no middle and there is no attack,” Hill said. “We try to take advantage of what the other teams give us and today it was the middle. These girls literally rose to the occasion.”

Victoria West will play the winner of Sharyland Pioneer and Flour Bluff, which was scheduled for Tuesday night. West won its bi-district match with a sweep over Mission Veterans, while Rowe advanced with a sweep over Brownsville Lopez and finished its season at 11-5.

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PSJA Memorial’s Wiliams Macias saw victory lane in front him, well within reach.

What he didn’t see, or hear, was Boerne Champion’s Foster Wilfong barreling upon him until it was too late — 0.68 seconds too late — as Wilfong broke the tape by a neck at the UIL Class 5A Cross-Country Regional Championship on Nov. 9 in Corpus Christi.

The win stifled Macias’ attempt to repeat as the regional champion and ended a two-year streak of being unbeaten.

What it also did was set up a highly anticipated rematch today in the UIL Class 5A Cross-Country State Championship at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.

“He was ahead by about 40 meters,” PSJA head coach Ernie Cazares recalled. “I sent one of my coaches ahead to the finish line, and when I got there, I was told he (Macias) was all up in arms.

“He never does this but he cruised. He was killing everybody. I was like, ‘Nobody has a kick that good but he (Wilfong) kicked it in.’ He sprinted and ran the last quarter mile with all he had. He passed him on the last two steps

“Williams knew he had a lot more in the tank. He was very upset with himself.”

That sets up today’s matchup, where cross-country experts from MileSplit.com, among others, expect a similar confrontation in a sport where a one-on-one rivalry like that one that has been instantly created at the regionals doesn’t often happen.

Following Wilfong and Macias, some other Valley runners competing today include Donna High’s Kevin Hernandez and Erick Chavez Carreon (who finished fourth and seventh, respectively), Rio Grande City’s Alex Ramirez (sixth) and Sharyland Pioneer’s Cesar Ramirez. The McAllen boys team also advanced for the first time since 1975.

Sharyland High’s Danielle Salinas, Daylah Vega and La Joya Palmview’s Destiny Quintanilla also will be running in the girls state championship today.

If history has a tendency to repeat itself, Macias could be on his way to a personal-best time. During a race earlier in the season, Cazares said a runner that Macias was competing against said something offensive to the Wolverines’ runner. If the boys’ intent was to frustrate Macias, the strategy backfired. All it did was focus Macias even more as he ran with complete conviction, en route to crossing the finish line first, well ahead of the remainder of the competition.

“He ended up running his best time,” Cazares said. “And he beat that other runner by more than 35 seconds.”

Cazares said he saw that same passion the Monday after regionals.

“I show up to practice the next morning, and he’s nowhere to be found,” Cazares said. “I called him and he said he was out running 10 (miles). I told him we were supposed to be running eight. He said, “I’ve got to beat him. There’s no way I can let him do that again.

“He’s a lot like I am when it comes to the mental part and preparing for competition. He’s not aggressive, but something has to click like the guy who offended him at district. Then he’s just in another gear.”

Macias and Wilfong are expected to be two of the runners today among the favorites to win a state championship. The meet starts at 3 p.m.

“From the regional meet, I took away that I can’t be too confident with the lead and that there his someone else who can compete with me,” Macias said through his coach, who interpreted his comments for him. “It will not be easy at all for me to get beat at this meet.”

In what has turned into a made-for-TV cross-country meet, there could be a perfect ending for Macias that would make the day even more special for him.

“I would like my best effort to bring the state championship home,” said Macias, who turns 18 today. “Not just as a birthday wish, but as a gift to myself for my birthday.”

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MISSION — Lorelai Hill and Marcela Martinez found a common connection Saturday — Natalie Reyes.

Hill and Martinez combined for 26 kills — 15 and 11 respectively — most of them coming on quick middle sets from Reyes, and the Diamondbacks rolled past Edcouch-Elsa 25-12, 25-16, 25-21 in a Class 5A bi-district matchup at Sharyland Pioneer High School.

The win gave District 31-5A — Pioneer, McAllen High, McAllen Memorial and McAllen Rowe — a clean sweep over District 32-5A and four teams advancing into the area round of the playoffs. The Diamondbacks will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Flour Bluff in Bishop.

The connection started right away but was enhanced late in the second set of Saturday’s match after Edcouch-Elsa’s Kaitlyn Martin, Mia Flores and Vida Ybarra combined for a pair of double blocks and a jump-ball type tip and winner from Ybarra that sparked E-E’s 4-0 run and turn a runaway second set into a 21-14 Pioneer advantage.

That’s when Pioneer head coach Laura Cavazos took a timeout and went over the game plan with her team.

“She told us to dig deep, play our game and if they block us, they block us. We needed good passing so Natalie could run me and Maricela, too, so we could run our offense,” said Hill, a junior who also added an ace and four blocks. “Our middle game was very important and we saw that in the middle there was just a single block but on the outside there was a double block, so we wanted to get around that and work our offense and make them move because their libero was great. She was all over the place.”

The Yellow Jackets recorded another block before Reyes and Hill connected one more time and went up 2-0 in the best-of-five match.

Reyes ended the night with 37 assists and 16 digs, including several back sets that went for kills on a play known as a c-slide, when the middle blocker comes around the back side of the setter and attacks. That play proved effective on most occasions for the D-backs.

“I’ve known these girls for quite a while and you can feel their presence and their aggressiveness,” Reyes said. “They are very eager and confident to get up there and that play, I love it. It makes us see the court a little better and spreads (the opponent) out and gets us some chances at great shots.”

Edcouch-Elsa challenged to push the match into a fourth set and took a 10-9 lead in the third behind two Ybarra kills and a tip, all down the line, which was wide open until Cavazos and Pioneer took another timeout and made some adjustment.

With the score tied at 21, Lizzy Fina served out the final four points to complete the set. During that run, Martinez had a pair of kills, outside hitter Daisy Monie blocked an attack attempt and the Diamonbacks closed out the match 25-21.

Monie finished with 14 digs, six kills, three aces and a pair of blocks, while Mariana Treviño added five kills 12 digs and an ace. Libero Fina contributed 26 digs and three aces and Jada Lopez collected 13 digs for Pioneer.

“I have to credit our back line. When they push the ball in transition and give Natalie a good pass to set we are able to run our complete offense, which includes our middles,” Cavazos said. “I thought both of our girls in the middle did a phenomenal job and it was an important aspect. That was the game plan coming in and we know what our strengths are.”

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EDINBURG — Evana Ramos is quick to admit she’s “stubborn.”

If stubborn means training at 4:30 a.m., or being told it’s time to leave the RGV Venom training facility because it’s waiting on her to close, or the fact that she repeatedly asks questions to trainers and coaches, she can live with that characteristic.

After all, being “stubborn,” or determined as one of her trainers worded it, is how she feels she reached one of her goals to sign on to play volleyball for UTRGV and continue her academic and athletic careers.

“I’m really excited, but nervous, too,” the Edinburg North senior said during her signing ceremony Saturday, celebrating along with friends and family, in a socially-distanced setup at the Venom training facility. “I want to be with my teammates already.”

Ramos has been part of the RGV Venom traveling volleyball team since she was a freshman. She immediately caught the eyes of Melissa Lowery, Venom club director, and Todd Lowery, Venom director of coaching and UTRGV volleyball head coach.

“Evana is one of a kind and Coach Lowery and I noticed that from the moment she stepped on the court with Venom,” Melissa Lowery said. “Her work ethic and her agility — you can’t teach that. She may be small but she will outrun anybody and she thinks and plays like she’s 6 feet tall.

“I’ve had to kick her out of Venom sometimes. She wants to train so much.”

Ramos, The Monitor’s All-Area Libero of the Year in 2019, said at first she was looking at other schools, but when Todd Lowery started talking to her, she decided to make UTRGV one of her visits.

“I came here to Venom as a freshman and was very, very stubborn with a very bad attitude. It took me a long time to open up to Todd and Missy, but once I did they became family.

“My sophomore year I was looking around to see where I wanted to go. As a junior I went on a visit and then it was a no-brainer decision, Ramos said. “I went with the girls afterward to a baseball game I just liked the environment. When I was there, it didn’t feel like home. I felt like I was in San Antonio or somewhere like that.”

Ramos said her mother and father played integral parts in her volleyball growth along with the Venom coaches and trainer Jorge Mata.

“My mom does not let me take a day off. If I told her I’d like a day off she would say, ‘Too bad. I’ll drive you to practice,’” Ramos said. “She’s a big influence on me, not just on the court, but at work and on the go. She’s determined to get whatever it is she has to get. She’s a great leader.”

Her father plays a different role for her in the volleyball world.

“My dad isn’t so much about on the court stuff but about having a heart for the sport,” Ramos said. “That’s the biggest motivation for me as a player to see him smile on the side. It makes my day every time.”

Ramos was recognized by Sports Illustrated in its “Faces in the Crowd” feature, ranking her as the No. 1 libero in the United States in 2019. Ramos collected the most digs at Edinburg North in school history, while leading the country with 1,045 digs as a junior in 2019, according to MaxPreps.com.

Ramos, who graduates next month from Edinburg North and wants to start at UTRV in the spring, said she plans on pursuing a degree in exercise science, and hopes to also work with Mata to learn more about and “get into” muscle engagement.

She also has other plans.

“My goal as a freshman is to start the recruitment process to play professionally overseas and be on top of it,” Ramos said. “I think volleyball has gotten me everywhere in life and has kept me on a straight line, for the most part.

“I don’t want to stop playing volleyball. Ever.”

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BROWNSVILLE — McAllen High head volleyball coach Paula Dodge had a big concern going into Friday’s Class 5A bi-district matchup at Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

That big concern was big middle hitter, sophomore Katherine Fourt, who dominated the court all season to lead the Chargers to a 10-0 district record and the top seed in District 32-5A.

The Bulldogs countered with an overpowering offense to overcome a sloppy and slow first set en route to a 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-10 victory to advance to the area round of the playoffs.

Junior Celina Saenz and seniors Olivia Tite and Haidee Moore combined for 50 kills (19, 18 and 13, respectively) and the Bulldogs attacked almost at will following the first set. They also kept Fourt and the Chargers from getting into any rhythm. But when Fourt received an opportunity to attack, she responded with thunderous kills or soft tips placed perfectly in holes, and showed what she was capable of and what the district will have to face for the next two years.

“We had to keep the ball away from the setter’s hand and the ball away from her (Fourt),” Dodge said. “Her hitting ability was our biggest concern.”

The Bulldogs offset that with pressure serves and a variety of attacks that spanned the volleyball spectrum — kills, tips, shots down the line and an occasional second ball finding a wide open corner from setter Madison Helmcamp — that kept the Chargers on their heels, not knowing where the ball was going.

The match didn’t start that way. Led by Fourt, strong defense and a poor serve receive by McHi, the Chargers led for most of the first set, keeping a three- or four-point advantage through half of the set before extending that to six at 22-16, holding off a McHi comeback to claim a 25-23 win.

“We had a much better transition today from defense to offense but we had a slow start again, we like to dig a little hole to climb out of,” Dodge said. “Today during that first set we struggled with making serves and our serve receive and passing the ball up. We were making our setter work so hard. At this point in the season we need to pick it up from point zero.”

The serves became an offensive weapon, especially when senior libero Audrey Zamora was behind the service line. Zamora was serving during 23 of the Bulldogs’ 75 points in the final three sets, including a run in the fourth set that started with McHi ahead 8-7 and ended with the Bulldogs leading 17-7. She also collected four of her match-high eight aces during that run and was aided by two Tite kills and a tip into a double block for a point.

“Audrey knows what to do back there,” Dodge said. “And she knows when she missed what she did wrong and fixes it.”

McHi ended the regular season with an 8-6 official record to claim the No. 4 seed in District 31-5A and align them with Veterans, the No. 1 seed in District 32-5A. The Bulldogs had to forfeit four games during the regular-season due to an ineligible player. Without those forfeits the Bulldogs would have finished as the No. 2 seed with a 12-2 district mark. So far, District 31-5A has won all three of its matches against District 32-5A with McAllen Memorial sweeping Donna High and McAllen Rowe doing the same to Brownsville Lopez. The other 31-5A team, Sharyland Pioneer, hosts Edcouch-Elsa on Saturday.

“This is the third part of the season and you need to start strong,” Dodge said. “They have to have it in their hearts. We are gonna play until we lose.”

McHi will play again Tuesday against the winner of today’s match between Corpus Christi Veterans (13-5) and Laredo Cigarroa (5-5) in Alice. The time has yet to be determined.

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The bi-district volleyball match between District 31-5A’s No. 3 seed, Sharyland Pioneer, and District 32-5A’s No. 2 seed, Edcouch-Elsa, was postponed and pushed back to 6 p.m. Saturday. The game was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday but then delayed until 7:30 p.m. before it was rescheduled.

“We had a possible COVID issue,” Pioneer head coach Laura Cavazos said in a text to The Monitor. “For the safety of all players and coaches we wanted to make sure we thoroughly looked into the situation. We simply ran out of time as we worked through it today to make any decisions. We notified EE and they were kind enough to move the game to Saturday.”

Edcouch-Elsa head coach Gloria Treviño said her team was at their school since 1 p.m. Thursday, a tradition Treviño said the team has before traveling for a playoff match, as coaches hand out t-shirts and they go through other traditional preparations. They were planning to stop at a chapel on the way to the match, where a deacon would share a blessing upon the team, another longstanding tradition.

“They called us about (COVID-19) testing and the safety precautions,” Treviño said. “The girls were ready to play. They really wanted to play and just ended up waiting.

“There was no way to play Friday, or Saturday morning, because of my mom’s funeral and arrangements,” said Treviño, whose mom died earlier in the week. “So we said Saturday at 6 p.m. That’s where we are at right now.”

McALLEN MEMORIAL SWEEPS

The Mustangs remained unbeaten on the season with a three-set sweep over Donna High, 25-11, 25-8, 25-16.

Senior Jocelyn Fernandez registered 12 kills and three aces to lead the District 31-5A champions. Freshman Amare Hernandez added 10 kills, while Jacky Treviño had 19 assists and senior libero Cori Talamantez collected a pair of aces and 19 digs.

“I worry about playoffs because the playoffs are what is expected here in McAllen, so I worry that it may not be as special and we talked about that today,” Memorial head coach Ashley Doffing said. “I pray that every win and opportunity is appreciated and with Thanksgiving week it’s fitting to be thankful for the season and everything.”

Memorial will play Gregory Portland at 2 p.m. Tuesday at McAllen Memorial. Gregory Portland defeated La Joya Palmview on Thursday.

“Not having the opportunity to have a preseason, we weren’t able to see these postseason opponents,” Doffing said. “But we will start working to get ready for them.”

In other bi-district matches Thursday, Victoria West defeated Mission Veterans, 25-19, 25-23, 25-15, Gregory Portland spoiled La Joya Palmview’s first trip to the playoffs, 25-10, 25-11, 25-9.

and Harlingen High overcame a two-set deficit to down Edinburg North, 22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-5.

The Edinburg Economedes girls track team had already established itself as a good team and program when Briana Mitchell joined it as a freshman. Then it all changed — in a good way.

“When Briana came in we were a different team,” Economedes head coach Brenda Lozano said. “She paved the way for us. I put her in all the relays at first because I wanted to let everyone know Economedes was here to shine.”

Now the powerful sprinter will use her speed and strength at the next level after signing her letter of intent Tuesday to run at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Mitchell exploded onto the track, helping lead the Jaguars to a district championship in 2018. She anchored the teams that won the 4×100, 4×200 and was runner up in the 4×400, as a freshman.

“She has a burst of speed and she already had the talent,” Lozano said. “We were able to fit her in our groups and she blended in. She made us go from a very good team to a standout team.”

Mitchell continued to increase her strength and speed as a sophomore, winning the district and area titles in the 100 and 200, as well as anchoring the 4×200 to second at both district and area.

“All we needed to do with Briana was work a little bit on her mechanics,” Lozano said. “She has that given ability and the muscles. She grew and grew and just got better each year. From freshman to now she has grown so much and last year was a breakout year for her.”

In the Cats’ relay, the annual clash between the Edinburg schools, Mitchell was in her “runner’s zone.”

“That day, I went in very nervous and didn’t know what was going to happen,” she said. “I felt a lot of pressure. But once started my first race — the 4×200 — I felt very calm and knew I could do it. I was focusing on hitting my PRs (personal records).”

Mitchell won the 100, the 200 and anchored the first-place 4×200 team. She also set personal bests in all three events with 12.36 seconds in the 100, 26.24 in the 200 and 1 minute, 47.52 seconds in the 4×200. It was the last meet of the season as COVID-19 began its wicked trek through South Texas.

“I didn’t know what to feel when the open events started,” Mitchell said. “I pushed myself in all the events and just did my best.”

“She was the 100 and 200 meter top-ranked runner in the RGV and was going to have a break out year until we couldn’t return back from spring break,” said Lozano, who also competed for Texas A&M-Kingsville. “I am so proud of her accomplishments and growth in her four years. We are so excited and blessed to know she will be going to my alma mater.”

Mitchell said her goals for this year’s season is to make it to the state meet in her events. After the season is over, she plans to study kinesiology at Kingsville.

“I’m very excited but very nervous because I don’t know what to expect,” Mitchell said. “I know I’m not always going to be first or second but I’m going to go there and I’m going to work and get stronger.

“I’m excited to start a new journey.”

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For three years, La Joya Palmview head coach Margo Iglesias-Cantu has told her volleyball team they would make the playoffs, but they never actually did.

Before the start of this season, her fourth at the helm, Iglesias-Cantu doubled down on her comment. This year, she said, she promised they would win postseason series.

It was a promise — a guarantee.

Then, word surfaced that there wasn’t going to be a volleyball season for ISD Palmview or any of the La Joya ISD schools. In fact, COVID-19 forced the schools to decide and announce they were bowing out of all fall sports. They were the first Valley school to make that commitment.

“I had to meet with the seniors,” Iglesias-Cantu said. “We were crying. I told them that I was sorry I lied to them and told them just to pray.”

Weeks later, the coaching staff and the team found out that their season was back on, even though it may be shortened. So, the work began.

Today, the Lobos will travel to play Gregory Portland at 7 p.m. at Falfurrias in the UIL Class 5A bi-district round of the playoffs.

Promise restored.

“Everything went by so fast. We had a week of practice and then our first district game,” Iglesias-Cantu said. “Every single game we focused on the team that was in front of us.”

The Lobos finished District 30-5A with a 6-4 record — good enough for the second seed and great enough to be the first Palmview team to advance to the postseason. The Lobos are also the first squad in the La Joya school district to make it to the playoffs, the last team (La Joya High) advancing in 1999, before Palmview and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln split off from La Joya High to make the three high schools.

Promise delivered.

The team clinched a playoff spot with one game remaining but coaches didn’t reveal that information to their team. With one match to go — against Roma — the Lobos can secure second seed with a victory. A loss would put them in a seeding matchup for third and fourth place.

“I wasn’t going to tell them, but right before the game (against Roma) we had gotten shirts for the girls and they had been asking what they were for,” Iglesias-Cantu said. “But I told them it was for Senior Night. Then the coaches came walking in with the actual shirts and they went crazy.”

The Lobos are made up of four seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. Senior Daisy Rodriguez is their leading hitter and classmate Alejandra Hernandez is the team’s setter. Defensively, they are led by junior libero Aaliyah Garcia and 6-foot junior middle hitter/blocker Samantha Ramirez.

“We had six returners and three new girls this season,” Iglesias-Cantu said. “But what has separated them from all the other years is that none of them worry about who has the most hits or does what. When one person gets player of the game, they are all excited. The girls made friends with the new girls and they trust one another. If someone is down they bring them up.

“If they didn’t get along or weren’t able to get through this crazy season, we wouldn’t be where we are at right now. We’ve overcome a lot.”

This is the first high school coaching job for Iglesias-Cantu, who coached previously at the junior high level. She also played volleyball and basketball at La Joya High and continued to play college basketball in Kansas and Iowa. Now, she has at least one item crossed off her bucket list.

“It’s the best feeling from not having a season to this,” she said. “We’re thankful to have the opportunity to play. It may have been a shorter season, but it was one I’ve been stressed out the most. I’m excited for my team and getting this chance.

“Now, the goal is go get past bi-district.”

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Tied at two sets apiece, Mission Veterans volleyball head coach Diana Lerma put the challenge to her team.

“I told them that we had already won district, that was locked up,” Lerma said. “But I asked did they want to be the ones where the streak ended?”

The streak, at that time, was eight straight seasons with an undefeated district record.

As the Patriots head to Kingsville to play Victoria West at 5 p.m. today in the bi-district round of UIL Class 5A volleyball tournament, the streak is now nine straight perfect district seasons.

It wasn’t easy. In fact, Lerma said she hasn’t gone through anything like what she and her team went through this year. The Patriots lost their only two non-district matches of the late-starting season, to McAllen Memorial in four sets and to PSJA High in five sets after winning the first two sets.

The Patriots fought challenges from their District 30-5A opponents all season, dropping a set in each of the first five district matches before finally claiming a three-set sweep in the sixth match of the season. For a program that has lost just 10 district matches in 18 seasons, and won 16 titleS in 21years, the thought that someone in District 30-5A would knock the Patriots from atop the mountain gained interest from volleyball enthusiasts — from fans to opponents to coaches — and gave them something to keep an eye on.

“I was getting phone calls and they were saying, ‘You really went four, Coach?’” Lerma said. “But a win is a win, and this is how you grow. This is how you get better.”

Seven seniors graduated from last year’s district championship team, and this year’s squad is sophomore-heavy with eight, and that includes the only two returners from last year. Three seniors, three juniors and one freshman make up the rest of the team which, like most across the Valley, decided to not create a JV squad due to the coronavirus pandemic and went with larger numbers on the varsity squad.

Lerma has navigated through limited practice time to help her young team bond. That, she felt, was going to be critical for her team’s success this year.

“A single player is like a pencil. It’s easier to break, but when you put all 15 pencils together, they’re stronger and difficult to break,” Lerma said. “We play as a team, we play toward our strengths, the girls have seen that and have grown a lot this season. Despite all the bonding things we haven’t been able to do, we still find ways to grow as a team and to turn 15 individual heartbeats into one.”

Playing toward their strengths means setting the ball up for one of the two returners, hitter Rylie Barnett (the other is sophomore Michaela Perez), who is among the most feared and powerful hitters in the Rio Grande Valley. Her strength, vertical jump and prowess at the net, more often than not, is simply overpowering. Even blockers react with a cringe when successfully blocking Barnett, even though their hands may not feel very successful. During the team’s five-set finale against Laredo Martin, Lerma challenged her star hitter.

“I told her when she went to that back row to be ready to hit from back there, and was she ready,” Lerma said. “She said she was and the team knew that was what we were going to do, and we did and we won. Reilly is a force to be reckoned with. You can’t ignore her.”

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MISSION — Celina Saenz is one of the more powerful outside hitters in the Rio Grande Valley.

She was much more than just powerful Monday. The junior outside hitter for McAllen High pulled out all of her arsenal as she killed, tipped, pushed and literally willed her team to a 24-26, 25-22, 26-24, 25-14 victory over Sharyland Pioneer that kept the Bulldogs alive in their quest to reach the playoffs. Pioneer, which was already in, now with a record of 7-5, will claim the third seed in District 31-5A, behind second-place McAllen Rowe and district champion, and McAllen Memorial, undefeated.

The Bulldogs had to forfeit four games due to an ineligible player, turning their record upside down at one point from 5-1 to 1-5. They are now 7-6 and winners of four straight matches over the past five days. McHi will host Sharyland High at 6:30 p.m. with both teams battling for that final playoff position.

Saenz ended the night with 26 kills and four digs. The timing of those kills, however, was critical for the Bulldogs, who dropped the first set.

“Things just clicked after that first set and I didn’t want to lose to this team again,” said Saenz, whose 26 kills were nearly half of McHi’s 55 total. “When I feel like I’m on, I just want the ball and I want to kill it. It’s about focus.”

The junior hitter collected 10 of those kills in the critical third set with the match tied at one set apiece, including two during the final two points of the set to lift McHi to a 26-24 win.

“It was terrific to see her come alive and rise to the occasion today,” McHi head coach Paula Dodge said about Saenz. “She’s a great athlete and an amazing player. This is the best performance she’s had this year so far.”

The match through the first three sets had been tied 34 times, neither team getting any separation from the other. Sixteen of those times came in the first set alone, which was finally won by Pioneer on a Mariana Treviño kill and a McHi attack error.

The second set ended with a Saenz tip, perfectly placed from the back row, reaction swing by Olivia Tite, who was spinning around trying to hit a ball that was saved off a block. The ball landed on the side line for a 24-22 lead and Madison Helmcamp finished the set with an ace.

McHi took that momentum and jumped out to an 8-2 lead following a Camilla Miller kill, then pulled out to an 11-4 lead after Saenz softened up on a kill that found the middle of the court, and followed that with another blistering shot down the line for an 11-4 lead.

Haidee Moore added 13 kills and Olivia Tite contributed nine for McHi. Helmcamp, who broke the McHi career record for assists earlier this season, added 41 more to her career total to go with seven digs, three kills, two aces, and a block.

Lorelai Hill had 10 kills for the Diamondbacks, and Jordan Bravo had seven kills to go with three blocks. The two middles provided a potent combination running quick sets from Natalie Reyes, who finished the night with 37 assists.

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