Down set point during the first set of the McAllen High 16th annual Poundfest Volleyball title match, it wasn’t much of a secret as to who McAllen Memorial was going to seek refuge from.

Junior Amare Hernandez slugged three of her match-high nine kills during the final points of that set as the Mustangs remained poised and powerful to claim a 28-26, 25-15 win over the Bulldogs and capture the early season tournament crown against possibly the most competitive lineup the tournament has put together in recent years.

Memorial recovered from 7-1 and 20-14 deficits throughout the first set before Hernandez came to life, aided by bullet serves from Madisyn Sosa as the Mustangs overcame the slow start. Hernandez finished the match with nine kills and a pair of aces, and Sosa contributed seven kills, two aces and delivered several high-pressure serves.

“I’m mainly thinking, ‘Push it out, push it, out,” Hernandez said regarding wanting the ball down the stretch. “I want my setter to trust me to put the ball away, and that’s what I want to do.”

McAllen Memorial’s Amare Hernandez (14), Alicia Ziegler (10) and Juliet Trevino (6) celebrate their win over McHi in the championship game of the 16th Annual McHi’s Poundfest tournament at the McAllen High School gymnasium Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])

McHi, with five freshmen playing significant roles, streaked early to a 7-1 lead behind a monster kill from Gabriela Estringel and a solo stuff block by fellow freshman Katelyn Pritchard against Hernandez.

“Dang, these freshmen are good,” Hernandez said about a young McHi team. “They’re way better than what we were when we were freshmen. It’s a big responsibility, but they’re doing it.”

Memorial led 12-10 during the second set before going on a 7-2 run to gain some breathing room. A pair of attack errors coupled with a Sosa kill and Hernandez block highlighted the run. Memorial pushed the lead to 22-13 on a double block from Kaitlin Martin and Leah Garcia, then later put the match away following a Garcia kill down the line and a Sosa attack.

“I saw the line open, it was open all day,” Garcia said. “But it was hard to get that perfect set because they have really good hitters and kept attacking.”

“Leah had a great game. Defensively, she puts up a huge block,” Memorial coach Ashley Doffing said. “I’m also glad that Sosa came in and came out of nowhere. That little kid can fly. We’re trying to work on our first line of offense, which is our serves, and they performed well today.”

The tournament gave a glimpse of what will be some tough district battles, especially in 31-5A, where five of the eight teams in the championship bracket play.

“I’ve been saying this since they realigned our district, I’m so excited for Valley volleyball, it gives us great competition and gets us ready for playoffs,” Doffing said. “Coming out of this showed me where we are weakest, but also that the girls have grown.”

Memorial bounced back from a three-set loss to Los Fresnos during the second day of pool play to defeat Sharyland High and PSJA High before facing its city rival. McHi went 6-0 during the first two days and defeated Edinburg Vela and McAllen Rowe to advance to the championship.

PSJA High defeated Rowe in three sets to capture third place.


To see more, view Monitor photojournalist Delcia Lopez’s full photo gallery here:

Photo Gallery: McAllen Memorial claims Poundfest title with sweep over McHi