By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Soon after losing in the Class 6A regional semifinals in November, McAllen Rowe‘s Vanessa Lopez began envisioning what her role would look like in 2016.
For the previous two years, Lopez, a setter, had largely known one front line, led by Mayda Garcia, an All-Valley Player of the Year in 2014. With those players gone now, however, the Lady Warriors have begun looking for replacements, making adjustments to their attack and tinkering with the idea of two-setter lineup.
“Because we had been together so long, we had a connection,” Lopez said. “And this year, because we have different hitters, that’s what we have to work on. That’s what makes it a little challenging.”But you just have to adjust to it as a setter. It’s just a lot of reps, making sure you’re always talking.”
As a three-year letterman, Lopez stands to inherit a larger role, requiring her to be more vocal and assertive. She’s one of seven returners — a low figure, by most accounts — and the one responsible for ushering in an evolving offense, shuffling between a 5-1 and 6-2 rotation.
The introductory part of that process began this past offseason, when Rowe players were responsible for devising their own strategies, competing without a head coach during the summer leagues.
“They were able to solve problems, see where girls should go — front row, back row. That really opened their eyes,” McAllen Rowe coach Magda Canales said. “They tried different things, and not all of it worked. But that really gave them a lot of experience, not having someone tell them what to do.”
Going into the opening day of tryouts Monday at Fossum Middle School, Rowe began its search for its new crop of players, holding a three-hour session with various drills (hitting, passing, setting, blocking) and conditioning exercises. They served the ball to designated targets, and also worked on their vertical leap.
By Wednesday, Canales said she hopes to have a clearer idea of which batch of players would travel with the varsity and JV squads. On Friday, they’ll host a scrimmage and further evaluate players in varying capacities.
It’s much of what Lopez went through as a junior, when Rowe qualified for the regional semifinals — one of two Valley teams to go that far in the UIL playoffs last year. Her responsibilities have since changed. Lopez led the charge in offseason workouts and open gyms, hoping to build a tighter bond with her teammates.
In past years, she said, players would naturally turn to the seniors for guidance. Now that she finds herself in that role, she’s employed a “go-getter” attitude heading into her final year at Rowe.
“(Last year’s seniors) brought a lot of fire, a lot of spark,” Lopez said. “They had so much heart. Our girls do, too, but we have to show it more now. When we were down — Mayda and Sophia (Luna), those girls — they lit a spark in us. They set us straight. They made us understand that this is what it is, and this is what we’re going to do. And I feel like this year we have to take on that role. Not just being a leader, but trying to bring life to the team.”
Among the most pressing needs is middle blocker, where Rowe has three JV dark players under consideration. But Amanda Martinez, a four-year letterman who played exclusively at outside hitter last year, could be called upon to help alleviate some of the load.
“Our offense, looking for the right girl in the middle, is going to be a task,” Canales said. “The way we swing at the ball, we need to be selective as far as which sets are good to really put down. And depending on the experience of the player, we need to see if she’s going to put it down or place the ball.
“So yeah, it’s going to change. How much? We won’t know until we get into the season.”
Having graduated its front line, Rowe will likely turn to Martinez as its featured hitter. Though she enters her fourth year with the team, Martinez will undergo a few changes, namely a second hitter.
The idea behind that, Canales said, is to provide the Lady Warriors with more distribution options on the court, especially as they incorporate a half-dozen new pieces and adjust their attack to the players’ skill set.
“By the looks of it, I think we’ll be pretty strong,” Martinez said. “Yes, there’s going to be teams better than us, but I think we’re going to compete and put up a fight. We just have to adjust.”