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McALLEN — McHi had Sharyland High on the ropes Saturday afternoon at McAllen High School, but the Rattlers came out swinging in fifth set to capture a district title and keep their long win streak intact.
The Rattlers defeated the Bulldogs 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 14-25, 15-10 in the thrilling District 31-5A meeting.
The Rattlers (42-1, 17-0) in the end showed why they are highly rated in state polls and on a 41-match win streak. Sharyland High always seemed like coming back despite the Bulldogs looking like the better at times. Both teams put on a tremendous effort as post season play looms for both teams.
Sharyland High head coach Raul Castillo said he and his team knew it was going to be a battle coming in because of how well the Bulldogs (34-9, 13-4) are currently playing under head coach Estefania Portillo. McHi missed the playoffs in 2022.
“McHi has been on the up-and-up. It takes a while for a new coach, they have to adjust to her system and do what she is doing,” Castillo said. “We all knew she was going to do good things here. Sure enough, they started a little rough and started leveling out. They are doing great.”
Sharyland High turned it up in the fifth set. The Rattlers picked up a strong lead early thanks to kills by Kassandra de la Garza and pinpoint serves by Kaitlin Rodriguez.
Junior Kenisha Martinez also was involved. Martinez made it 8-3 and the closest the Bulldogs would get was 13-10.
“Going into the fifth set we were all pretty nervous,” Martinez said. “I think our energy and our confidence in each other helped us come through and that is how we were able to go point-by-point.”
McHi forced a fifth set in dominant fashion. The Bulldogs built a comfortable lead thanks to points Gabriela Estringel, Karely Cantu and Katherine Williamson.
“Both of the teams were excited to play each other,” Martinez said. “We basically have the same players. They have a lefty; we have a lefty. They have a big outside; we have big outsides too. So, it was an important game.”
The Bulldogs responded well after dropping the third set. McHi was up 17-7 at one point in the set. Williamson was terrific, playing defense next to libero Kaylen Ottmers while coming up deliver big hits. Outside hitter Kayla Salinas provided a spark and the Bulldogs were rolling.
Despite letting the Rattlers back in the set, the Bulldogs were still up 23-19, but de la Garza came up clutch.
“We came back from that third set, I told them, it is not a bad thing to dig yourself in a hole,” Castillo said. “It puts us in a situation where we have to learn how to fight and dig ourselves out. That is exactly what they did in that third set.”
Castillo said he tried that same speech in the fourth, but it did not work.
McHi came back late in the second set with great serves, strong play at the net and kills from Williamson to level the match after Sharyland High won the first set.
Castillo said the girls deserve all the recognition for claiming back-to-back district titles and that the team is going to ride this wave as far as they can.
“I got some cool-headed leaders out there like Kassandra de la Garza, Kenisha Martinez and Kaitlin Rodriguez, those kids know we have to settle ourselves down. It is us that are giving them the game and they took that speech a few times during the timeout,” Castillo said. “That is what they do. They are leaders on and off the court.”
Sharyland High faces Sharyland Pioneer at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home. McHi plays Valley View at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Valley View.
View MyRGV photojournalist Delcia Lopez’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: Sharyland High beats McHi in five game thriller
