Volleyball: Monahans outlasts Andrews for 3-3A victory

ANDREWS Shelbi Cornelius kept her mind on the moment -- pressure-filled as it may have been -- and delivered Monahans High School's volleyball team past the finish line Saturday for a 23-25, 25-21, 25-5, 27-29, 15-13 victory against Andrews in a topsy-turvy District 3-3A match.

The junior outside hitter had missed a serve on a match point earlier in the fourth set and was on the service line again as Monahans faced a replay at 13-13 in the fifth because the scoreboard buzzer sounded in Mustang Arena during the rally after an Andrews timeout.

Compounding the situation was that Monahans appeared to be on the verge of winning the point when the referee ruled for the replay.

"I was just worried about that point," Cornelius said. "It was nerve-racking, but I just tried to act like it wasn't a replay and it was just 13-all and that point hadn't happened. I've served in tight situations like that many times, and I just knew I could do it. I just tried to stay focused."

Cornelius delivered with an ace for a 14-13 lead and then followed with another good serve on the next point, which gave Monahans (17-16 overall, 3-1 district) the match when Amy Rose recorded a kill off a Jordan Jernigan assist.

The two-point margin of victory was fitting in the two-hour match, particularly after the quality of play and fight shown by both teams in the last two sets of the match.

Andrews (15-16 overall, 2-2 district) got blown out in the third set and lost a six-point lead it had built in the fourth, but the Lady Mustangs fought off five match points in that fourth set and forced the decisive fifth when Melanie Gonzales and Jaci Criswell teamed up for a block to cap a closing 9-3 run.

"That's where we really came together and really dug down and actually found our hearts and played like a team," Andrews setter Jaycee Harris said of the fourth-set rally, during which she served the team from a 24-21 deficit into a 25-25 tie. "We played like we wanted to win."

The fourth set had six lead changes and eight ties, and that quality carried over to the fifth set that saw six ties and four lead changes.

Though both teams did commit a few errors, the players competed at a high level as if the match was a playoff encounter instead of the fourth district match of the season.

Katie White had four of her team-high 15 kills in the fifth set and teamed up on a block with Gonzales, while Heather Rawls also had two kills and a block assist.

"I think this is going to be a big motivation for us," White said of the tight match against the perennially strong Lady Loboes. "We need to hate losing more than we love winning, and our team has that passion."

Monahans, which had opened District 3-3A action Sept. 22 with a five-set loss at Seminole, figured out the formula to come out on top this time. Cornelius had four kills, Rose had three kills, and Kali Lewis and Kristi Holly had one kill each.

Monahans was on top during the early stages of the fifth set, but the Lady Loboes had to rally from an 11-9 deficit for the victory. Cornelius had three of her kills to turn a two-point deficit into the 13-13 tie.

"It's very satisfying," Cornelius said. "They are a very good team and they stuck with it in the fourth, so it's very satisfying to beat a team playing like that."

Makenzie Morren had 28 digs, Marissa Luna had 18 assists, and Jaycee Harris had 15 assists for Andrews.

"I'm proud of the girls that they didn't back down - at all," Andrews coach Julie Etheredge said. "I thought we did what we had to do, and it could've gone either way."

Cornelius finished with nine kills, 15 digs and six aces; Rose had a match-high 21 kills; and Holly had 13 kills for Monahans. Erin Fisher had 22 assists, while Jernigan had 16 assists.

Jernigan also served the final 12 points for Monahans in the third set.

"Every day we're getting stronger and developing more heart," Monahans coach Patty Dominguez said. "This district we knew was going to be tough, and we have to learn how to take care of ourselves and battle. I can't wait to see what it's going to do for us come playoffs."

The Basics
>> What: District 3-3A matches.
>> Who: Monahans vs. Greenwood (at Jerry Larned Complex, Monahans); Andrews at Brownfield
>> When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (times subject to change)