McALLEN — When the stampede starts, you best get out of its path.
That was the case Friday afternoon and big hitters Amare Hernandez and Madisyn Sosa powered their Mustangs to a convincing 25-17, 25-15 over PSJA High during Day 2 of the McAllen High Poundfest volleyball tournament at McAllen Memorial. The event, which concludes Saturday with the championship bracket played at McAllen High, is being held at all three McAllen campuses – Rowe, Memorial and McHi.
The Mustangs and Bears came into the match undefeated in both the tournament and overall during the young season and have pulled themselves apart as two of the top teams in the Rio Grande Valley.
Memorial was playing without injured standout senior hitter Leah Garcia while PSJA star Johanna Montelongo was favoring her right leg following a prior match with Harlingen South and sat most of the first set before returning to the floor in the second.
Both teams could face each other again Saturday based on how the brackets are set up.
Hernandez and Sosa both displayed the power that have helped propel Memorial to last year’s Class 5A Sweet 16 and have made them a perennial power while senior setter Gaby Torres ran a silky offense with well placed balls and some sneaky dinks to keep the Mustangs in control of the match from the onset.
Memorial led 5-0, highlighted by a Sosa ace and back row kill, before Julianna Guajardo got Memorial on the board with a kill. Memorial led 18-12 before the Bears closed to 18-15, again behind a pair of kills from Guajardo.
That’s when the high-flying Sosa started rolling and registered three kills during a five-point span then Kaitlyn Martin put the first set away with a kill from the middle. It was the first set dropped by PSJA this season.
“I think after a couple of points we just got a hold of ourselves,” Hernandez said. “They’ve got (libero) Alexa (Carranza) and she’s all over the floor and they have big hitters and blockers and we just needed to be ourselves.”
Memorial head coach Ashley Doffing summed it up, saying “the girls were awake and they were meshing together. It didn’t matter who did what, they were just all working and being the team we’ve been for four years.”
Sosa led the team with 15 kills and a pair of aces while Hernandez contributed nine kills and a pair of blocks. Hernandez also showed some of her better defensive skills that she said she had worked hard on all during the offseason.
“It’s important,” she said. “I can finally read the hitters and I’m a hitter so I kind of know. But as much of an effort I put into the front row, I put into the back row. Defense is a mentality – you can’t be nervous, you just have to own it.”
Middle blocker Karly Bazan also stepped into the spotlight Friday, working with Hernandez on back-to-back blocks late in the second set. Earlier in the set she added a solo block and a quick kill as Memorial increased its lead. Torres and Ashley Garza each had 10 assists.
“This pool is tough,” Doffing said. “I prepared the girls for the whole day. It’s about respecting each and every team. Any team on any day can take us out.”