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McALLEN — McAllen Memorial head coach Ashley Doffing knows what teams will do against her offense-heavy Mustangs – try to earn as many as points possible with aggressive serves and keep Memorial from setting up for a kill off serve-receive.
The plan looked like a good one for Edinburg Vela, until Memorial got on track. Then it was heavy artillery time.
Amare Hernandez and Madisyn Sosa each tallied 10 kills, Leah Garcia added seven and Memorial improved to 2-0 in juggernaut District 31-5A with a 25-17, 25-20, 25-7 victory over the SaberCats at McAllen Memorial.
Sophomore libero Juliet Treviño collected 18 digs while getting the offense on track along with setter Gaby Torres as the Mustangs overcame an 11-5 second-set deficit that began with two blistering Sosa aces, continued with successful attacks for Garcia and Hernandez wrapped around a Torres ace and finished with a pair of blocks and kills from Karly Bazan and sophomore lefty Ana Davila.
“It’s really amazing playing with these girls. We did really great today and pulled through,” Davila said. “I felt good since the first hit I had and they just kept coming.”
Davila and Bazan’s spurt in the second set turned a 19-17 score into a 23-17 Memorial advantage.
Vela stayed true to its strategy, but launched a serve too deep, ending the second set.
“I think just like any team growing and developing we hit a little bit of a hiccup. It’s about learnin
g to overcome that,” Doffing said. “Going up(state) to bigger tournaments I hope helped us learn that we don’t have time to fall.
“Serve receive is something we definitely work on, we always need to push our passes and it’s something we preach constantly. When they imitate me, I think that’s one of the things they say.”
Doffing said adding depth to the powerful lineup of hitters is critical for the team as they begin the long haul in a top-heavy district and look to play deep into the postseason.
“It’s important for all my kids to step up – we’ve had a core group of kids since they were freshmen and giving roles to other kids is just going to help the program and develop it even stronger,” Doffing said. “Ana has been coming on. She’s our sophomore and we’re lucky to have her. I’m excited that she’s developing and having her and Karly will help us grow and develop for next season as well.”
Torres, who reached her 1,000th assist earlier this season, dished out 18 assists for Memorial. Sosa and the Mustangs also celebrated her 200th career ace after the match.
McAllen Memorial will host city rival McAllen High at noon Saturday. Both teams are 2-0 in District 31-5A.
