Sharyland captures second straight Poundfest crown

To be the champ… do we really need to complete that cliche? How about a little revision – nobody beat the champ.

For the second straight year, Sharyland rose to the top after losing during pool play, winning three straight matches en route to the 18th annual McHi Poundfest volleyball championship. Senior stars Kenisha Martinez and Kassandra De La Garza scored the final four points off two kills apiece and the Rattlers downed an upstart and strong Edinburg Vela in the finals 25-20, 21-25, 15-10.

Last year, Sharyland lost in pool play during this same event, but won the event, then captured an undefeated District 31-5A title, its second in a row, and went on to keep winning – 44 in a row, the longest in the state at that time.

First-year head coach Lydia De Leon said it’s not time to start thinking about any type of streak but, instead, to focus on one day at a time.

Check out the post-tournament interview below:

The strategy worked Saturday as the Rattlers also went three sets against McAllen High 25-16, 21-25, 15-11 in the semifinals, Sharyland jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the second set before the Bulldogs started reeling them in behind Gabby Estringel and Bella Rivera, closing to within 22-20 on an Estringel tip, then an ace.

But champions are champions for a reason and Ivana Adame’s perfectly placed tip ended McHi’s comeback attempt and created the third set.

In the finals, Vela pushed Sharyland to the limits. The SaberCats improved during each match throughout the tournament and saved their best for last.

Sharyland, however, did the same – and introduced another big offensive threat to join Martinez and De La Garza with Pamela Pena But the Pamela everyone saw at this tournament was leaps and bounds beyond last year’s version and during the third set against McHi in the semis, delivered three straight kills as the Rattlers took the lead and never gave it away.

Throughout the tournament, which started Thursday, Vela had looked like a team just missing either a little chemistry or a piece wasn’t in the right place. Friday afternoon all those pieces were accounted for – from the setting/hitting duo of Lauren Hanson and Abby Zamora to libero Mia De La Garza and the SaberCats bevy of hitters. They went from being a virtual unknown in the 31-5A race to district title contenders by the end of Saturday.

The biggest obstacle – the current champion, the Sharyland Rattlers. But Vela’s emergence onto the scene means that at least six teams – Sharyland, Sharyland Pioneer, Vela and the three McAllen schools – will be battling for four playoff spots.

Vela led 19-18 in the first set of the title bout before De La Garza started a 7-1 run with a kill to tie the set at 19. Pena added a tip, followed by a Renata Cantu block. Pena’s final kill of the set secured it for Sharyland.

There were nine ties in the second set before Vela pulled slightly away thanks it part to three straight Sharyland errors and a Hanson kill for a 17-14 advantage. Hanson added another kill with a tip later in the set and an attack error forced a winner-take-all set.

Sharyland looked to make quick work of that final set, jumping out to a 8-1 lead as Martinez found her groove with four kills during the run. But Vela’s De La Garza started a comeback with a pair of aces, and a Maddy Luedeker kill brought the score to 8-7 and, eventually to 10-9 Vela.

Once again the champion’s persistence came to the forefront and Martinez notched another kill for a 12-10 lead, a De La Garza tip when she was tight on the net made it 13-10. Vela followed with an attack error and De La Garza put an exclamation on the day with her final kill and a Sharyland championship repeat.

Sharyland, which lost to McAllen Memorial on Friday in pool play, has now won four straight – not that anyone’s counting.