McALLEN — After the first set between McAllen Rowe and McAllen High was over and the visiting Warriors claimed a convincing 25-13 victory, McHi head coach Paula Dodge knew it could be a quick night if her team’s defense didn’t start playing better.
The defense did precisely that, and there was nothing quick about the next three sets as the Bulldogs rallied to a 13-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-23 victory over the Warriors to remain on course to capture the fourth and final playoff berth in their district.
The Bulldogs have four matches in the next five days, needing to win at least three to have a shot at the playoffs. The Bulldogs came into the day with a 3-6 record after having to forfeit four matches due to an ineligible player. After spending two weeks in COVID-19 quarantine, the team now has four remaining regular-season matches — today against PSJA Memorial, Saturday at Valley View, Monday at Sharyland Pioneer and Tuesday against visiting Sharyland High.
After Thursday’s slow start, Olivia Tite and the offense came alive. Tite led McHi with 20 kills, while Haidee Moore and Celina Saenz each contributed 14 kills. Madison Helmcamp, who was recognized for breaking the school’s all-time assist record, held by her sister, was relentless in getting to every pass to set up the Bulldogs’ offensive attack. The senior finished the night with 52 assists. Fellow senior Audrey Zamora was also recognized for setting the new career mark for digs and added a team-high 22 digs for a defense that turned the match around after Rowe attacked with authority and success in the first set.
“We just needed to get back to playing the fundamentals,” Dodge said. “We needed better defense, better passing and better communicating.”
The better defense also led to a much better offense. Still, the teams battled over the next three sets to 23 ties, and several lead changes, highlighted by the crucial third set, tied one set apiece. In that set, the teams tied at every point from 20 to 26, both teams realizing the criticality of the third set and what the losing team would have to overcome down two sets to one. McHi took a 27-26 advantage on a Rowe attack error and then Tite collected a kill down the line to end the extended set.
It looked as if the fourth set would be the exact opposite as the Bulldogs ran out to a 10-5 lead. But after the first set, nothing else came easy. Rowe came roaring back with an 11-2 run behind the attacks of sophomore Mia Mata and Anna Honrubia and several point-saving defensive plays from Honrubia, Vanessa Morales and Mata.
McHi in return went on an 8-4 run to tie it at 20. Tite hammered away for three kills, Saenz for two and Tite combined with Moore for a defining-moment double block of Mata and the set was tied at 20-20.
Moore said she made a minor shift in her defense at the net. It had a profound impact.
“I noticed they were hitting to my right a lot, so I knew I needed to adjust,” Moore said. “I let the other hitters know that they were going line. That first set I think we went in with some nerves. It seems like we do that with all the McAllen teams.”
Honrubia led McAllen Rowe with 20 kills, while Mata added 15. Morales had 34 assists to lead the Warriors and Alexa Muñoz had a strong defensive game with 11 blocks.
McAllen Memorial clinched the District 31-5A title earlier this week and is 13-0 with one match remaining. Sharyland Pioneer is 7-3, while McAllen Rowe is 5-4, with two victories over Pioneer. Rowe has four matches remaining — three, however, are expected to be forfeit victories for Rowe due to COVID-19 quarantines, which would place the Warriors at 8-4 with one game remaining. Sharyland Pioneer still has matches with McAllen Memorial, Pioneer and Valley View.
Helmcamp was clearly the floor general Thursday for McHi, running down every pass and finding ways to get good sets off to a larger number of hitters than through most of the season. She said that the team being in condition was a huge benefit in a match that lasted as long as a five-setter, just about two hours.
“In practice we run so many liners and we end with 30 minutes of conditioning,” Helmcamp said. “Coach wants us prepared for five sets. This one felt like it went five sets.”