MCALLEN — McAllen Memorial head coach Ashley Doffing wanted to see how her big hitters fared against Los Fresnos, who may have the tallest group of blockers in the Rio Grande Valley.
Likewise, Falcons head coach Anissa Lucio wanted so see how her blockers took the challenge facing a Memorial arsenal of big hitters.
The big hitters won Tuesday night’s non-district battle, as Amare Hernandez collected 12 kills, while Leah Garcia and Madisyn Sosa added five apiece, and Memorial improved to 18-10 with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-13 sweep at McAllen Memorial High School.
Despite the loss, Lucio, in her first year leading the Falcons, said matches against some of the Valley powerhouses are critical for her young team. Her team gets another power to play Saturday, with McAllen High visiting the Falcons.
“We want to play the top teams in the Valley, the McAllens and others like that,” Lucio said. “This was a good experience, something that we can learn from and continue to use. We need to take advantage of the height we have and learn how to use it to our advantage. The girls are coming around, especially playing these fast offenses, and this was good for us tonight.”
Olivia Parra and Dakota Martinez, and sophomore Shiloh Jones provide some tough defense at times at the net against the Memorial onslaught of hitters, but the Mustangs simply kept attacking. Overall, the Falcons couldn’t find a response.
Los Fresnos dropped to 14-10 on the season.
“I was excited to see how the girls would do against a tall team like this and for us to be able to see the block on the other side and make the adjustment and continue to swing away,” Doffing said. “But what I’m really looking for is the team to grow. They didn’t get a whole season last year so that’s what I’d like to see.
“I think they’re growing at the right time with 11 days before district.”
Both sides traded off points with their strengths leading the way. A kill from Parra and block by Jones gave Los Fresnos an 11-10 lead during the first set. However, after a booming kill by Hernandez and some tough serves from libero Cassie Falcon and the Mustangs’ boomers started to get into rhythm.
“They key for us now it to continue to communication and work as one,” Doffing said. “We can’t be six individuals out there. Playing a team like Los Fresnos just helps us get better.”
Madison Amaya added four aces and 15 assists and the Mustangs’ service game help set up their offense, keeping Los Fresnos from attacking and giving Memorial several shots at taking advantage of free balls with multiple attacks the remainder of the night.