McALLEN — McAllen Memorial head coach Ashley Doffing had a clear message for her team going into Tuesday’s Class 5A Region IV area matchup: Do not underestimate your opponent, and do what you came to do.
The Mustangs heeded that advice, needing only 70 minutes to sweep the Gregory-Portland Wildcats 25-16, 25-19, 25-23 to advance to the UIL Class 5A regional quarterfinals.
“I told them that today they needed to respect the other team and respect themselves,” Doffing said. “Today I think they did. They respected the heck out of their ability. I’m just glad the rest of Texas is able to see what I see in the gym every day.”
With the game tied at 23 in the third set, it looked as if momentum had shifted to the Wildcats as they attempted to hold off elimination and begin their comeback attempt.
Mustangs senior outside hitter Natalie Silva came up with a huge block and kill to give her team a 25-23 victory.
“I’m pretty confident in my team and our abilities,” Silva said. “I thought we could take it in three. Leading up to this game, we’ve been struggling a lot with communication, but we came together when we needed to.”
The Mustangs used a balanced attack to jump ahead following a 25-16 victory in the first set. Led by the offensive fire power of Silva and freshman Leah Garcia, as well as the defensive presence of junior Eliane Silberman and freshman Amare Hernandez, the Mustangs took control early and never looked back.
Silva and Garcia led the team in kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Silva also added 4 digs, while Garcia added 1 block.
During the second set, setters Madison Amaya and Jacky Treviño set up Hernandez, the stud freshman, for a string of kills to propel her team to a 25-19 victory. Treviño finished with a team-leading 23 assists.
Hernandez made her presence felt offensively and defensively, finishing the game with 8 kills and 3 blocks. Defensively, senior libero Cori Talamantez roamed the court coming up with key saves throughout the match. She finished with 10 digs.
Still, it was Silva who came up with big play after big play when her team needed it the most.
“She’s really stepped into that leadership role, and I’m proud of her for it,” Doffing said. “She is the go-to (player) that the team looks for. And just the way her team looks to her, the opponents look at her to take them.”
With the victory, the Mustangs move to 16-0 on the season and advance to the regional quarterfinals, where they will play the winner McAllen High, which defeated Corpus Christi Veterans in five sets Tuesday. Details for that matchup have yet to be announced.
“We just need to take every game like it’s our last,” Silva said. “We need to play like it’s our last because we never know when it is actually going to be our last. With our season coming closer to an end each game, it’s just important for me as a senior to give it all every game we have left. That’s my main priority.”