By EDWARD SEVERN, Special to RGVSports.com
BROWNSVILLE — The McAllen High Lady Bulldogs defeated the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers in four sets, winning the bi-district clash and advancing to the area round Tuesday night.
The Lady Bulldogs brought the intensity from McAllen during the first set. They hit with precision and power, forcing plenty of mistakes from BVM and not letting the Lady Chargers get their offense going. It was back and forth early as both teams looked nervy.
McHi used a big run to take a 20-12 lead and won the set 25-14 after some great serves.
“We struggled,” Brownsville Veterans coach Elizabeth Mares said. “They served really hard, and we were not used to a team like that. They compete in a tough district, we adjusted better later on. McHi is a great team all around. We struggled, some miscommunication forced us into bad spots on our second hits, and that impacted us in transition.
“We have a lot of returning players next year, I reiterated that a lot to them. We need to learn from everything. Next year our goal is above district, it should be to go deep in the playoffs, and it starts in practice. I think that is something with youth in our team, they have to learn how to play in these games.”
The Lady Bulldogs carried their momentum into the second set. Their setters found Celina Saenz early and often in the set. Saenz was brilliant, especially knowing when to go with power or finesse, finding the space in the Brownsville Veterans defense.
“We do a good job of sharing the ball,” Saenz said. “Tonight we had an injury, so I got the ball a lot. I am happy we are going to the next round, we worked hard and I am a senior. I was not ready for this to be my last game.”
The Lady Bulldogs opened a 16-10 lead in the second set only to let the Lady Chargers creep back in. A huge kill and a block from Katherine Fourt gave the Lady Chargers a 22-20 lead. Fourt scored the next three BVM points to win the set 25-21.
To begin the third set, both teams traded points, and McHi took a 16-10 lead, Aleah Saenz, Shiela Zamora, Ada Sadler and Katherine Williamson scored big points. Kaydence Pritchard was setting up teammates left and right. Leah McClenny was composed defensively, helping to spark the offense.
McHi maintained its lead for the rest of the third set, winning it 25-17.
Both teams again traded blows early in the set. A huge kill from McHi’s Zamora gave the Lady Bulldogs a 9-7 lead. McHi used that momentum to get a 14-9 advantage, forcing Mares to take a timeout.
Brownsville Veterans tried to get it going around the net, but the Lady Bulldogs were strong around the net. Sadler had some big blocks, Celina Saenz got the kills and McHi took a 19-12 lead.
BVM played well in the match, but McHi was just too much, finishing it off 25-15.
“The win feels really good,” McHi coach Michael Smith said. “I am really proud of the girls, really proud. We faced a lot of adversity, had some mountains that we needed to climb. They were able to solve problems on the court, they took a hard situation and did a great job.
“We were battle-tested, you got to battle every night, and sometimes it is not about who is the better volleyball team, it is about who brings it on that night,” he continued. “We had to learn it quick during the season, and we knew coming in here tonight they are a great team, they are well-coached, disciplined and have some big hitters. We were ready for those battles, and we are ready to move forward.”