McALLEN — Tuesday marked one month to the date since Sharyland High last lost a contest, with its last defeat coming Aug. 13 against McAllen Memorial during a tournament.
The Rattlers looked in danger of seeing their month-long winning streak snapped after one set Tuesday, dropping the opening set to the McAllen Rowe Warriors.
Sharyland High responded in dominant fashion, winning the next three sets by seven or more points to defeat McAllen Rowe 27-29, 25-15, 25-18, 25-14 at the McAllen Rowe gym in McAllen.
“We knew coming into this place they were going to defend. They’re known for that and they’re relentless,” Sharyland High head coach Raul Castillo said. “We kind of prepared for, coming in with a mentality that we’d have to swing three or four times just to get a point in their house. The first set we made some errors we shouldn’t have, and that’s how they came out on top.”
The victory marks the 23rd straight by the Rattlers, moving them to 30-3 on the season. They also improve to 6-0 in district play, sitting alone atop the District 31-5A standings, with McAllen Rowe falling to third with a 4-2 district mark.
McAllen Rowe drops to 4-2 in district play, seeing its four-game district winning streak snapped.
“I think this is one of the toughest districts in the Valley,” Castillo said. “To win here at Rowe, it is a good sign for these girls. Rowe isn’t going to let anybody just come in and win here.”
Sharyland High outside hitters America Hernandez and Kenisha Martinez came up big for the Rattlers during the final three sets, each coming up with timely kills to keep the Warriors at bay.
The duo made key plays down the stretch of the second set, each coming up with a pair of kills to close out the second and set the tone for the rest of the match.
“Those two girls, they know they got to go up and swing to get the point,” Castillo said. “They have to swing big. Sometimes they hit it off the net, but they know they have to stay aggressive to get the points. But the big key is, if we don’t pass and stick our middles with their middles then they’re going to have double blocks on us all day. I think we did that pretty good. Their middles weren’t ready for us and when they were ready our balls were going down.”
Sharyland High continues district play Saturday against PSJA North at the Sharyland High Gym. The Warriors look to bounce back Saturday, taking on the Valley View Tigers on the road.
