McALLEN – About 20 girls battled, clawed and played to near exhaustion Tuesday in the District 31-5A mutual season-opener between McAllen High and McAllen Rowe.
Intruding on three hours, but not quite getting there, there were numerous storylines – each one as good as the other – written throughout the ultra, high-intense marathon of a match that didn’t seem to want to end, but finally did close to 11 p.m. The biggest story line came right at the end as McHi’s Leah McClenny served up an ace, splitting two Rowe back row defenders who each thought the other “had it” and the Bulldogs claimed a 26-24, 22-25, 21-25, 25-15, 16-14 victory at home.
“It felt really good,” McClenny said of the game-winner. “I had missed my serve before so I was like I have to bring it now and tried serving between one of their best players and got the ace. It was amazing.”
McClenny’s performance throughout the match ws nothing short of amazing as the libero registered 35 digs, covered a zone that Rowe found an opening in and shut that down, and at times was part of what looked to be a tennis match between herself and Rowe star hitter Mia Mata, who who slug one at McHi, McClenny would pick up the dig and start the offense up, back and forth
It was a match that could’ve become an ESPN Instant Classic.
Each player who found the court also found a hand in keeping their team in this one.
Rowe, as in the past since under the tutelage of head coach Magda Canales, showed off its defensive prowess and highlighted its most destructive artillery, Mata, who kept striking thunderous shots all over the court. Sometimes, it seemed, her presence alone was worth a point or two. She dominated offensively, was the clear leader while on defense, and did as much damage at times with her serves as with every other piece of weaponry she holds in her impressive arsenal.
On this night, however, it was the synergy of a McHi team that won the battle of kills, 47-35. Junior Katherine Williamson led the way with 16 kills and Gabby Estringel, part of McHi’s Fab Five Freshmen, added 13 kills. McHi also took advantage of one of their strongest points, tallying 20 aces to Rowe’s 10, despite also committing 17 service errors to four by Rowe, according to stats provided by McHi.
Both teams had ample opportunities to make it a shorter night. After McHi won the first set, the Bulldogs led 16-9 in the second set and 18-10 in the third. However, led by Mata and libero Alisa Ramirez, who became shields between the ball and floor, and some offensive help from Brianna Sanchez and Luanice Rivera-Bejarano the Warriors crawled out of both holes to take a 2-1 lead.
Again McHi jumped out early in the fourth set behind three aces from freshman setter Katelyn Pritchard. Again, they led 16-9 before Rowe cut it to 16-12. Leading 18-13, the Bulldogs went a 7-1 run to force the fifth set.
“There was a lot of growing up going on until about 11 at night,” Smith said. “We just got some composure and grew up a lot in those last minutes of the game. It’s a privilege to play in that kind of a moment against a great team and great player – Mia is such an amazing player and she puts you in so many different situations where you really do have to grow up and harness the aspect of the game.
“There’s a difference between having to just step on the floor and having to rest your mind and stay in those battles. This was a slugfest and those kids grew up and my seniors led and thats priceless.”