BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — McAllen High coach Paula Dodge asked a fan after Tuesday’s District 30-6A game if it was worth the price of admission.
For that fan, it was.
The Lady Bulldogs’ matches against McAllen Memorial are almost always worth watching, and Tuesday did not disappoint. Athleticism, height, heart and hustle were all on vibrant display as McHi beat intracity rival Lady Mustangs this time 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19.
McHi leveraged its superior height advantage to frustrate Memorial most of the night, but especially in Game 4 as it recorded eight point-winning blocks, spearheaded by 6-foot-2 senior Sydney Pemelton. Two of the last three points of the match-clinching game were Pemelton stuffs, sending the RGVSports.com’s No. 2-ranked McHi to an important victory and lifting its record to 7-1 in district and 36-2 overall.
No. 1-ranked McAllen Memorial, meanwhile, dropped its first district game of the season and is 8-1 and 34-4. Memorial beat McHi earlier in the season. McHi’s two losses come to Memorial and South Texas power Laredo Alexander. Given that, it was clear the game was played at a superior level. And even though McHi made quick work of Memorial this time, it wasn’t easy.
The rivalry is as emotional as it is evenly matched. McHi simply played a better, more consistent overall match Tuesday, McHi coach Paula Dodge said.
“They just came in focused and focused on what was happening in that court in that 60 by 30,” Dodge said. “They did what we talked about them doing. They executed their fundamentals, and they just stayed with every point.”
Dodge credited her front line for wreaking havoc with its ability to block shots. To be sure, McAllen Memorial had its fair share of kills, but Dodge said Pemelton, Victoria Rogers, Julia Monday, Lexy Gonzalez and others were accurate, timed their jumps well and showed good eyes on the Lady Mustangs’ offense.
The first set was perhaps the most intense. It was nip and tuck all the way until McHi was able to get five straight points and make the score 24-19. Memorial battled back some but fell short 25-22. In the second set, it was all Lady Bulldogs as they had the Lady Mustangs on their heels. McHi went up 21-17 on a Rogers block then scored four of the next five points to claim the set 25-18.
Memorial did indeed have some fight and denied McHi the sweep with a 25-23 win of their own in game three. Boosted by the strong play of Taylor Marburger and Alexia Kruse, Memorial strung together a nice effort to make the match closer. Memorial coach Lorena Lopez-Castillo said Tuesday night’s game was like any other McHi-Memorial match.
“It’s about playing good volleyball. Both teams played really well. Both teams gave it everything they had,” Lopez-Castillo said. “McHi came in strong. They looked sharp today, and that made the difference. I think they played more consistent than we did.”
That steady play paid off for the Lady Bulldogs in the last set. After Memorial scored the first five points, McHi broke out of its mini-funk and scored eight straight points led by setter Carter Helmcamp. The 5-foot-8 junior was everywhere creating assists, hitting winning shots and even snagging a block or two. McHi was up 18-10 before Memorial started to claw back. By then it was too little and given Pemelton’s domination on the front line, it was too late.
The fierce, but friendly matches are different than others, said Pemelton, who as a senior faced Memorial for the last time.
“We try and bring all we have. We wanted to really show them what we were capable of doing,” she said. “I think we did that.”
Pemelton finished with 14 kills and seven blocks to help lead the Lady Bulldogs. Monday recorded 16 kills and Helmcamp had 36 assists.