McALLEN – Sharyland Pioneer, like many schools, hasn’t had the best of luck against McAllen High in recent years on the volleyball court. In fact, it hasn’t had any.
That changed Saturday as the highly energetic Diamondbacks defeated the Bulldogs 27-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-23 at McAllen High School behind a well-rounded offensive attack. It was the second match of the day for both schools as District 31-5A has agreed to play doubleheaders Saturdays and single matches Tuesdays.
It was the second win of the day for Pioneer, defeating PSJA Southwest in straight sets during its morning match. McHi defeated city rival McAllen Rowe in its earlier match of the day in four sets. After one full Saturday of matches, Pioneer leads the district at 2-0. McAllen Memorial is 1-0 and had its second match of the day, against Sharyland High, rescheduled.
“This means a lot,” Pioneer head coach Laura Cavazos said. “We knew coming into this district that playing some of these teams in the past has been tough and they have given us a very hard time. The girls want to prove themselves and tonight they kept fighting and pushing themselves. We had some fuel tonight for this game.”
The two teams split the first two sets and McHi looked like it not only found a rhythm but also a weak spot in the defense, attacking Pioneer with softer attacks and tips. The strategy worked in the second set but Pioneer made adjustments and those attacks weren’t as effective in the final two sets.
“We had to change our mentality on that, they are power hitters but they were going more toward some finesse shots and I told the girls they needed to be ready,” Cavazos said. “They were reading it a little better and were more successful after that.”
Pioneer led 19-13 in the third set behind strong attacks from Daisy Monie, Mariana Trevino and Thalia Ochoa. McHi pulled to within 23-22 but a kill from Lorelai Hill and an error on McHi gave the Diamondbacks a two set to one lead. Three Diamondbacks registered double-digit kills led by Trevino with 12 and Ochoa and Monie with 10 apiece. Hill added eight kills while Jordan Bravo had four kills and five blocks. Ochoa also had five blocks
Senior Ollie Tite and junior Celina Saenz led the offensive charge for the Bulldogs in both matches. Saenz finished with 19 kills in the four-set win over Rowe while adding 16 in the loss to Pioneer. Tite came away with 16 kills in the first, 15 in the second and added five aces between the two matches.
Of course, with it being the year, nothing went 100% as planned. With McHi up two sets to one but down 3-2 in set four, players were slipping on the floor more frequently as the match progressed. An official timeout led to a decision to move the game to Rowe’s back gym. The limited number of fans were not allowed in that gym and were asked to watch the game online.
The game, however, couldn’t be live streamed because of lack of Wi-fi in that particular gym.
Tite and Saenz came up with big kills time and again during crucial periods in the match against Rowe, senior Madi Helmcamp registering many of her 43 assists to her two outside hitters.
“Rowe did great and they were great competition and it was close but I am glad we got the victory to start off the district season,” Tite said. “We took charge of the whole floor thing. We communicated very well and am really proud with the girls. We have a wide variety of players, everyone on the team can do so many things. I’m proud of myself and the way my teammates helped me and each other succeed.”