NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — The match wasn’t always pretty, but in the end McAllen Memorial’s five-set victory over McAllen High put the Mustangs right where they want to be, on the verge of an outright district championship.
Calling Saturday’s contest hard-fought would be an understatement considering the importance of the match, but Memorial had just enough to prevail 19-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-23, 17-15 during the seventh annual Dig for A Cure game at the McAllen High gym.
It was the second time the teams met in district and the second time all five sets were needed to decide a winner. Memorial improves to 11-0 in district with three games remaining on its schedule, McAllen High drops to 8-3.
“Today we knew they were gunning for us, we knew we were the team to beat,” Memorial’s Jocelynn Everage said. “We knew that without composure and without confidence this game would be impossible to win. Our confidence wavered at times but in the end, I’m so proud of them. I love my team; we’re a family and we were able to pull it off.”
Just like in Memorial’s gym on Sept. 18, McHi won the first set. The results repeated as the Mustangs were able to persevere and come through on top in five sets.
Everage had 28 kills and her hitting partner Valeria Trevino had 23 kills.
At times the pressure was palpable. Some of the biggest points and momentum swings were set in motion by errors. Both sides had a fair share of blunders and Memorial coach Lorena Lopez knew the match would come down to who could play cleaner volleyball.
“Between these two teams we’re evenly matched,” Lopez said. “It was going to come to who was making fewer service errors, who was not going to make that hitter error in that clutch moment. Since McHi and us seemed to be doing that in crucial moments at the same time that’s why we ended up in a fifth set, 17-15. That’s something that me and (McHi) coach (Paula) Dodge will work on going into playoffs.”
McHi’s offense was dangerous, even with the absence of secondary hitter Haide Moore. Lexi Gonzalez led the way again with 26 kills and Olivia Tite and Damaris Llanas both pitched in with 11 kills.
The Mustangs were up to the challenge on defense, however. Demy Banks had nine total blocks (four solos) and the team had 15 total.
“Defense definitely is a big part of a game like this especially when they have Lexi Gonzalez and Damaris Llanas,” Lopez said. “When you have those two hitting at you and hitting balls off your block we have to pick up the slack on defense. Demy takes pride in blocking, it’s something she puts a lot of work into. It’s a game changer for us.”
Mustangs’ setter Sydney Marburger had 46 assists and 22 digs. She only had three kills but saved her most important play for match point when she tipped the ball away from the Bulldogs defense to finish the match.
“We know we’re up there skill-wise just coming together, playing for each other that’s the biggest thing for the match,” Marburger said. “McHi was playing such great defense, we have some strong hitters and they also have really strong hitters so we knew we needed to be ready on defense.”
Memorial still needs to wait to officially claim the district championship, but the team is in prime position. The Mustangs have three matches remaining and would need to falter against teams they have swept to allow McAllen Rowe 9-2 back into the mix. By virtue of winning both matches against McHi, Memorial holds the tiebreaker is somehow they ended up tied.
“First, I’ve never won a district championship in my four years without it being a tiebreaker or a point margin or a coin flip or anything,” Everage said. “So knowing that we have almost secured this spot means the world to me. It’s something I’ve never done and I’m so proud my team has gotten me here.”