By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — In the days leading into their match against McAllen Memorial on Saturday, McAllen Rowe scheduled its practices at a nearby middle school.
Having played at Memorial before, Rowe coach Magda Canales knew to expect a smaller gym, with a lower ceiling, than what her players were accustomed to. So by practicing in a more compact environment, Canales was confident her players could “overcome some of those disadvantages” of playing on the road.
It ultimately paid off, as the Lady Warriors recorded a 29-27, 25-20, 17-25, 25-18 victory to hand Memorial its first district loss of the season, creating a two-way tie for first place in 30-6A.
In a head-to-head matchup that was decided by an average of three points when they met earlier this year, and Memorial won, Canales was looking for any type of edge in their second go-around, such as maintaining possession after balls ricocheted off the ceiling.
“You know, it did make a difference,” Canales said. “There’s a few points that came to our favor because we were able to overcome the ceiling being low.
“In other words, we took care of all the possible situations that could have affected us today.”
Memorial (30-3, 7-1) held the distinction as the only undefeated team in 30-6A, having beaten Rowe 27-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23 in their first meeting. And much like that encounter, Saturday’s match was decidedly close.
Mayda Garcia posted 26 kills, 33 digs, two assists and six blocks, with help from Vanessa Lopez, who doled out 50 assists to go with one kill, one block and five digs. Karina De La Rosa contributed 19 kills, Amanda Martinez had 12 and Ryela Rodriguez added 10.
“Their hitters were putting the ball away effectively,” Memorial coach Lorena Lopez said. “Both teams battled equally. … Any time the McAllen schools play, it’s going to be close. It’s not like we ran away with it (in the first meeting). It could always go either way. It’s always anybody’s game.”
Canales echoed those sentiments, saying a couple of variables led to their initial loss, such as tipped blocks that bounced off their hands.
On Saturday, the Lady Warriors (34-9, 7-1) were able build momentum by playing a more fluid game. They made adjustments defensively, rotating their staring six to try to anticipate where Memorial might look to spike the ball. And they devoted more time to practicing with a serving machine and a blocking stand leading up to the match.
Still, Memorial’s Allie Nitsch (16 kills, six assists) and Lanie Nitsch (14 kills) battled through. Draik Banks also contributed six kills, despite muscle spasms in her neck and back, which forced her to miss practice all week. The senior middle hitter converted half of her 12 hitting attempts with no errors.
“For not practicing, that’s impressive,” Lopez said. “She performed.”
Taylor Marburger did her part to keep the Lady Mustangs competitive, with 34 assists and 17 digs. Now, Memorial has four matches remaining on its district schedule to try to regain an edge in the standings.
“After the game, we spoke, and I said, ‘Good teams regroup,’” Lopez said. “Good teams learn from losses, and we got to take this one and try to get better.”