BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
PHARR — Tuesday night’s match between PSJA Memorial and PSJA North looked a lot like the first time the teams met, in their district opener on Sept. 9. That night, the Wolverines won the first two games by identical scores before the Raiders made a late charge in the third but couldn’t avoid the sweep.
On Tuesday, Memorial won the first two games by identical scores, and North challenged late but couldn’t force a fourth game. PSJA Memorial prevailed 25-11, 25-11, 25-19 at PSJA North.
In the first meeting, PSJA Memorial won by a similar margin: 25-14, 25-14, 25-20.
“Our defense did a phenomenal job today,” PSJA Memorial coach Angie Gonzales said Tuesday. “Victoria (Maldonado), Kristy (Alanis), Brittney (Salcido) — they really stepped up on defense, and that’s what we needed.”
Junior libero Victoria Maldonado upped her defensive effort for the Wolverines (19-10, 7-1), leading her team with 28 digs on the night.
“We dive a lot more than we used to, because defense is a major key for us,” Maldonado said. “Even our hitters are coming back to play defense. It has come a long, long way because, of course, defense wins championships.”
The Wolverines ran into little to no trouble with the Raiders to start but experienced some turbulence in the third game. Deadlocked at 5, North (14-15, 2-6) opened three separate 3-point leads on the way to an 18-15 advantage.
“We finally got things going the way we wanted them to,” PSJA North coach Alicia Jaime said. “Getting things together, talking a little more on the court. Earlier, I thought we were holding back a little bit, and we didn’t correct our mistakes quick enough. By the time we realized what they were, the points were already piled up against us.”
Jaime said her girls simply ran out of time.
“It was unfortunate that we couldn’t keep it going all the way to the end,” Jaime said. “But I think the girls know now that they can be just as competitive as they are.”
With Edinburg High and Edinburg Vela prevailing in their district matches on Tuesday, Memorial’s win re-enters the Wolverines into a three-way tie for first place in District 31-6A.
“We’ve always said it since my freshman year,” PSJA Memorial outside hitter Kristi Gomez, who led all players with 27 kills, said. “We really want that gold ball (the district championship) trophy. As long as we’re working hard for it, we can accomplish anything we want.”