BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — San Antonio O’Connor (44-4) swept McAllen Memorial 25-21, 28-26, 27-25 to end the Mustangs’ season in the UIL Class 6A regional semifinals on Friday at McAllen Rowe High School.
“I’m so proud of this team. We gave it all we had,” Memorial junior outside hitter Jocelynn Everage said. “They (O’Connor) didn’t expect a Valley team, where the tallest girl is me at 5-11, to be real competition to them, but we went out there and proved them wrong. It’s sad to see the season come to an end, but I’m so proud of the girls and how we played.”
Memorial (31-9) had its chances to extend the match beyond the minimum three games. The Mustangs were locked in a 17-17 tie in game one, owned a 19-14 lead in game two and had game point up 25-24 in game three.
“Volleyball is that kind of game: two points can make the difference between a three-set sweep and a five-set match,” Memorial coach Lorena Lopez said. “We wanted it to go our way, but I can’t fault my kids for giving it everything that they had.”
Lopez attempted to simulate O’Connor’s tall frontline for her kids in practice this week.
“We put up antennas and we worked on hitting around those antennas because of the big blockers they have,” Lopez said. “I thought that made a huge difference for us. Our offense did not have a problem. We got blocked a couple times, as anybody does in these matches, but they didn’t shut us down. We were getting our kills.”
Senior right-side hitter Lexi Kruse played her final match as a Mustang.
“I was here for two short years after playing my freshman and sophomore years at Harlingen South. But playing for this team has been by far the best experience I’ve ever had,” Kruse said. “Playing with this group of girls and these coaches at Memorial has been amazing. I’ve made so many memories that I’m going to carry with me for the rest of my life. I couldn’t ask for any more.”
Memorial made its third Sweet 16 appearance in a row on Friday night. This year’s team will hold a different kind of significance to Lopez.
“Our last two Sweet 16s were senior-heavy lineups, but not this one,” Lopez said. “Two years ago, I had four or five seniors starting. Same thing last year. This year, I have one senior starting (Kruse). I won’t be graduating a majority of the lineup this time. We’ll have a lot coming back next year.”