BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @Gosset41
GARLAND – The top spin has the highest risk and highest reward when it comes to volleyball serves. McKinney North junior Allyn Brewer had it perfected on Tuesday night as the Bulldogs beat out Aledo in the Class 5A Division 1 state semifinals at the Culwell Center.
Brewer, who is an LSU beach commit, didn’t have one service error and registered several aces. It came up big during the third set when the Bulldogs used an 18-3 run to spark the win and a 2-1 lead.
The star outside hitter also got the final kill on match point to send North to victory 25-21, 19-25, 25-13, 24-26, 15-3. The Bulldogs (28-11), in the state semifinals for the first time in program history, advances to the 5A Division 1 state championship match at 2 pm Saturday at the Culwell Center. North will face the winner between College Station (31-12) and Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (36-12), which tips off Tuesday night in San Antonio.
It’s also the first state appearance for a McKinney ISD school since McKinney Boyd in 2012. It’s the fourth overall appearance and the championship berth is the first for McKinney North and second for the school district (Boyd in 2011). McKinney High also made state in 1990.
Meanwhile, Aledo ends 35-8. It was the Bearcats’ first appearance since 2017.
The fifth set alone saw seven ties and four lead changes.
Overall, the match had 26 ties and 22 lead changes.
It went neck and neck until a double call on Aledo and a point from Anny Sayman off an over pass gave North an 8-6 lead while Aledo had to call a timeout. Haley Lowe scored for Aledo and the Bulldogs committed an error to even it at 8-all.
Back to back kills from junior middle Chloe Lewis push North back in front 11-9. The Bulldogs would go up 13-10 before two straight big swings by Kinley Elms pulled the Ladycats within 13-12. Aledo got it to 14-13 before Brewer sent down an attempt in the middle of the court.
Libero Gabi Rodriguez, a Texas A&M commit, played well on the defensive side for North. She finished with a game-high 36 digs. Her mother is also her head coach Libby Rodriguez.
McKinney North had a chance to win it in four when it led 24-23 for match point, but Aledo broke the first attempt and scored the final three points to force a fifth game. The Ladycats got off a block and then North was called for a violation on Aledo’s set point.
The fourth set saw seven more ties and five lead changes.
North led 10-5 and 11-7 early on before Aledo clawed its way back with kills by Elms and Alyssa Todd, both who had great matches. Todd is a junior while it was Elms’ final match of her high school career.
Lewis scored on set point both in the first and third sets.
The Bulldogs had that big run in the third with Brewer behind the service line for much of it. They also got ace from Malia McNeal and back to back kills from junior middle Kaitlyn Jefferson. Aledo trailed for the first half of the second set before finishing out strong. Two blocks by Morgan Estevez pushed the Ladycats ahead and then Ella Isbell got a block on set point to even the match at 1 apiece. Aledo trailed 9-5 before having its largest lead at 19-14 before eventually winning by six points.
McKinney North trailed 16-11 in the first set but scored the final five points to grab a 1-0 lead. Lewis scored the final point. Aledo led 11-10 and then scored four in a row to force a timeout by North. Lewis finished with a game high 20 kills and hit 0.528.
Brewer added 17 kills, 13 digs and five aces.
North setters Jordan Kowallis and Malia McNeal combined for 56 assists.
Aledo won another district championship this season in 5-5A and was coming off one of the biggest wins all season – sweeping Colleyville Heritage in the 5A D1 Region 1 Final. McKinney North clinched its state spot after beating Frisco Reedy in the Region 2 Final.
