GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Mission High’s Emily Alvarado knows exactly how Lissete Vela likes her sets: high and close to the net. Playing with a lot of the same players for a third straight season, Alvarado has learned the best way to pass to each of her teammates.
With four seniors and four juniors with three years of varsity experience, that level of familiarity is common up and down the Lady Eagles lineup. Mission High is hoping the bond is enough to get the team back into the playoffs.
“We’ve come a long way since the beginning. We’re not a young team anymore,” Vela said. “We’re kind of comfortable with each other already.”
Seniors Alyssa Olivarez, Kazzy Rodriguez and Michelle Madden all have extensive varsity experience. The junior crop also got a big taste of varsity as freshmen, namely Alvarado, Vela and Maria Garcia.
“We all know how to react to each other,” Rodriguez said. “We all know how to talk to each other. When we’re not on our game, we know what to tell them so they can relax and just focus. It’s a lot easier with the girls that we have right now.”
With time together, Rodriguez said the group has gotten better at believing in itself. During Friday’s match against Edinburg High in the Mission Tournament, the Lady Eagles fell behind 22-10 in the second set before battling back to 24-23. Mission High ultimately lost the match, closing its run through the Mission Tournament at 2-2. The Lady Eagles beat Harlingen High and Laredo United South on Thursday before losing to Laredo Alexander and Edinburg High on Friday.
“We haven’t peaked yet, which is good,” Alvarado said. “We still need improvement, but everything is going great right now.”
Coach Edna Clemons is pleased to see that her team has grown physically over the years, coming back with more height in the front row.
Vela is one of the keys in that group, using her strength to slam down hits with authority — a far cry from her varsity start as a timid freshman.
For Alvarado, the improvement has been vocal, Clemons said. She went from a quiet freshman to a team leader and all-around presence.
She shares setting duties with Garcia, who also had to be molded to keep her power under control.
“At first, her serves were all out,” Clemons said. “It took her a while, but her sophomore year she understood it, and now her junior year, she has flourished.”
The back is anchored by last year’s District 31-5A Outstanding Defensive Specialist/Libero in Rodriguez, who is flanked by Olivarez and Madden. Clemons said Rodriguez’s best attributes are her physical strength, volleyball smarts and determination.
“I never give up on the girls,” Rodriguez said. “I just try my best to help them, and do whatever I can to stop the ball.”
Rodriguez has also become a better communicator and grown more assertive on the back lines. She used to be afraid to move outside of her area, instead deferring to her more experienced teammates. Now, she roams the court freely.
“She learned that really quick, and now the whole back is hers,” Clemons said.
With experience and chemistry across the court, Clemons and the Lady Eagles are hopeful they can compete for another playoff spot. The team went 6-6 in District 30-6A last year to secure fourth place. Mission swept the La Joya schools but could never get a win against the elite McAllen teams.
“I want to play strong against the McAllens — that is our goal,” Clemons said. “To play strong against them and come up with that W.”