NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN–McAllen High School cruised to a 25-13 first-set victory Tuesday night in McAllen Rowe’s gym. This time, the Bulldogs did not stop there.
The Bulldogs won 25-13, 25-23, 25-19 over the Warriors in a critical District 30-6A matchup. RGVSports.com No. 4-ranked McHi improves to 6-2 and pulls even with No. 3 Rowe (6-2) in the district standings. Both teams have one loss to district leader McAllen Memorial (7-0).
In the first meeting, McHi won the first set but then fell in the next three.
“The last time we played them the second set we thought we had it and everyone started messing around, starting getting overconfident,” senior Damaris Llanas said. “Here we were trying to focus more because last time that’s what killed us.”
The second set was a saga in itself. McHi looked to be in control of the set, but the Warriors stormed back from trailing 24-16, the Warriors rode the serve and offense of Jackelyn Alanis to fight off seven straight game points before dropping the final point on a hitting error.
Llanas was glad that set did not snowball into a repeat of their Sept. 8 loss to the Warriors to start district.
“It builds our confidence up I think but then at the same time at the end of the game we started losing points,” Llanas said. “It was hard to keep the girls up, it’s communication. With everyone screaming it’s hard to stay up.”
The crowds on both sides were raucous, which is what is expected anytime schools in McAllen ISD face off. Llanas admitted the chants and noise level can be a factor. She still put home six kills, 14 digs and an ace.
“Honestly, it’s the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Llanas said. “I’ve trained since a little girl to be on varsity and it’s been crazy. It gets so intense sometimes and people get in your head. Sometimes it’s hard to stay focused but it’s an amazing feeling.”
McHi’s Lexi Gonzalez handled the stage well on Tuesday. She led the way with 27 kills, three blocks and a pair of aces.
The Bulldogs had contributions from all over the court in the sweep. Madison Helmcamp had 36 assists and 11 digs. Libero Audrey Zamora was quick to the ball on defense to record 20 digs, while Haidee Moore had seven kills, three digs and three aces.
Gonzalez said that her team’s unity went a long way.
“We really wanted to win this game this time,” Gonzalez said. “We accomplished that by having a lot of chemistry and all getting together. We brought up a freshman and she really did help us a lot, her name is Celina Saenz and she’s really good and she helped us so much this game.”
Saenz did not take long to leave her mark in the win.
“I was a little bit nervous at first, not going to lie, it’s a big game (against) Nikki Rowe,” Saenz said. “After the first set, I kind of got into it and got comfortable.”
In that first set, she recorded key kills getting the purple and gold student section to chant “she’s a freshman.” She finished with five kills and an ace.
Veteran McHi coach Paula Dodge said the improvement did not happen overnight.
“A little bit more maturity, a lot more poise and togetherness,” Dodge said. “I don’t know if it happened all that quickly. We’ve been at it since August and it’s been about three weeks since the first round (of district). It’s just a matter of continuing to grow and get better together.”