Volleyball Preview: McAllen Bulldogs vs. McAllen Memorial Mustangs
McAllen and McAllen Memorial are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2020, but not for long. After both having extra time off, the two teams will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. McAllen is coming into the match hot, having won their last six games.
Last Saturday, McAllen made easy work of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial and carried off a 3-0 win.
A big factor in the win was McAllen's feisty defense: they held Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial to fewer and fewer points set over set. The match finished with set scores of 25-14, 25-9, 25-7.
Meanwhile, McAllen Memorial waltzed into their game on Saturday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 3-1 victory over the Raiders.
In the three sets McAllen Memorial was on fire: they won each by at least 12 points. The final score came out to 25-10, 25-13, 18-25, 25-5.
McAllen Memorial found their leader in underclassman Jozlin Rodriguez, who had four digs and 36 assists. Those 36 assists set a new season-high mark for Rodriguez.
McAllen Memorial was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in six consecutive contests.
McAllen pushed their record up to 21-10 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for McAllen Memorial, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 21-7 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's match: McAllen has really dialed in their serving game this season, having averaged 6.1 aces per game. However, it's not like McAllen Memorial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.3. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
McAllen came out on top in a nail-biter against McAllen Memorial in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, sneaking past 3-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for McAllen since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
