McAllen Memorial, three other 31-5A teams, unbeaten at Poundfest
BY HENRY MILLER
STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — McAllen Memorial volleyball head coach Ashley Doffing wasn’t exactly thrilled to see her team fall behind early in the opening set of the Mustangs’ first two matches Thursday.
“Do I ever want to be down? No,” Doffing said. “To see the way they pulled together and come back strong shows to me growth, mental growth, and that will help us through the playoffs.”
The Mustangs went on to not just take the leads, but then cruised to victories in both matches and gained three wins overall after the first day of McAllen High’s 16th annual Poundfest Volleyball Tournament. Memorial defeated Brownsville Pace, PSJA High and PSJA Memorial to win their pool going into today’s second day of action.
Other pool play winners — all undefeated — included Sharyland High, McAllen High, Harlingen High, Los Fresnos and Edinburg Vela. Four of the teams are from a stacked District 31-5A while Harlingen High and Los Fresnos compete and are favorites in a top-heavy 32-6A district.
A second round of pool play begins today before the elimination bracket round Saturday. Play begins at 9 a.m. at all three McAllen school sites.
Memorial trailed Brownsville Pace 8-2 early and fell behind PSJA High for the first half of the first set before going on a 4-0 run highlighted by blocks from Amanda Ziegler and Leah Garcia to tie the match at 12 before downing Bears 25-21, 25-17.
Memorial, known for its powerful plethora of hitters, also used its block efficiently throughout the matches, oftentimes forcing hitters away from full attacks and instead looking to tip or roll shots over or around the blockers. However, with those blockers keeping hitters from the full range of field attacking, the Mustangs’ defense, led by libero Kassie Falcon, was usually prepared in the secondary line of fire.
Several Memorial starters have been part of the same group for three years, and Doffing said there is a little more pressure on them this season.
“We set the bar high last year, and the girls grew a lot,” said Doffing, whose team in Pool 3 is joined today by Vela, Harlingen South and Los Fresnos. “I’m interested and excited go see how they’re going to come in and how much growth there is for us to have.
“The first two years I told them y’all were babies growing into it, but now there is no excuse. Any and all excuses are out the door, and I need to see them grow into the player we expect them to be. We’ve gone from being a young team to the most seasoned team here. How will we step into that role and how will everyone fit into it this year? That’s what we’re looking for.”
Memorial and Edinburg Vela will kick off Day 2, Pool 3 action at 9 a.m. at McAllen Memorial (main gym). Other 9 a.m. contests include McHi vs. PSJA High (McHi main gym), Brownsville Lopez vs. PSJA Southwest (McHi back gym), PSJA North vs, PSJA Memorial (Memorial back gym) and Bastrop vs. Weslaco High (McAllen Rowe back gym).
