BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Twelve girls were on the court during Tuesday night’s tussle, but only two could swing the match.
McAllen Rowe junior outside hitter Jackelyn Alanis and McAllen High senior outside hitter Victoria Rogers went back and fourth during the fifth set trying to lift their teams to victory.
“It was really intense, but it was fun to have someone on that level to compete with,” Alanis said. “I played with her in the summer. So it’s fun to go up against her, because we are always bickering at each other and having fun with each other. I’ll say, ‘Oh, I got you.’ And then she will get me. It’s just fun.”
Alanis got the best of the matchup again on Tuesday, as McAllen Rowe beat McAllen High 25-18, 21-25, 15-25, 25-17, 15-12 in a District 30-6A match at McAllen Rowe High School. The win is the Warriors’ third of the season over the Bulldogs.
“It was exciting,” Rowe coach Magda Canales said of the final moments of the match. “It was impressive to see my own girls pull together as a team. They took ownership. Everybody wanted to contribute and make a difference in that game.”
Alanis was dominant throughout the match, but she shined brightest in the big moments, scoring point after point for Rowe in the last set. She finished the match with 46 kills, 55 digs, 2 aces, 3 blocks and 1 assist.
“Jackie finished the game for us,” senior setter Adriana Martinez said. Martinez finished with 47 assists, 4 kills, 2 aces and 17 digs. “Playing with Jackie is great. I know what she wants. I have experience with her in club teams. Coming into games, we know we have that bond. We just work together and keep communicating with each other.”
“Adriana is very composed, and she will put the ball up every time she can,” Canales added. “Obviously, the pass needs to be there. It is a team effort. Adriana and Jackie were able to execute. That connection was great tonight.”
For her part, Rogers had an excellent outing, as well, putting up 18 kills, 9 digs and 1 block. Rogers scored many of those kills down the home stretch in the fifth set, keeping McHi’s hopes alive.
“Victoria was hitting the ball hard,” McHi coach Paula Dodge said. “That was what we wanted to do. We wanted to attack and attack hard. She really came to play and did what we asked her to do.”
Rowe beat McHi 2-1 in a best-of-three match during tournament play earlier this year. The Warriors also picked up a four-set win against the Bulldogs earlier in the district season.
“This was our best effort against Rowe this year,” Dodge said. “We showed up to fight. We did a much better job, after the first game, of executing what we wanted to do and attacking. That was the key. “
Rowe cruised to a win in the first set.
In the second set, the teams traded points early. Rowe pulled ahead, leading from its fifth point to its 17th point. McHi kept fighting and tied it at 17. The Bulldogs then grabbed their second lead of the entire match at 18-17. McHi used the momentum to pull away, withstanding two timeouts from Rowe to claim the set.
The momentum carried over for McHi as it cruised to an easy win in the third set.
“We were starting to give up after we lost the second one in a row,” Alanis said. “I told the team that, ‘This is our house. We are going to come back. We are not going to let anyone beat us at our house.’”
Alanis’ message rang loud and clear, as the Warriors jumped out to an early lead and never looked back to force the decisive fifth set.
Rowe pulled into a tie for the District 30-6A lead with the win, moving to 30-7 and 9-1 in district play. McAllen Memorial, which Rowe faces in its final game of the season, is 27-6 and 9-1. McHi drops to 29-5, 7-3 with the loss.
“This win feels good,” Martinez said. “We still know that there is one team left in McAllen that we have to go up against. We have to keep working hard to beat that team.”
sberrios-thomas @themonitor.com