San Marcos opens 2021 season with 3-1 win over New Braunfels

San Marcos learned how to deal with pressure Tuesday night.

A year ago, the Lady Rattlers weren’t as highly regarded by their opponents. But now, coming off an upset playoff win, other schools are on notice. San Marcos isn’t going to be underestimated this season.

It’s a lot to deal with for a team that lost several seniors and brought in multiple new faces. And it showed when the purple and white hosted New Braunfels inside the Snake Pit on Tuesday. The Lady Rattlers committed over a dozen attacking errors through the first two frames, giving up the first set and falling behind in the second, 24-17.

But San Marcos rallied, leaning on some of its newcomers and the development of its returners, to take back the second set and close out the match with a 3-1 (16-25, 26-24, 25-14, 25-14) win in the 2021 season opener.

“Man, that was a crazy turnaround,” head coach Jared Te’o said. “I think it just kind of overwhelmed them in the beginning and we have new pieces … So there was a lot of looking at each other and not really sure who’s supposed to go. But we figured it out.”

New Braunfels’ defense keyed in on senior outside hitter Maggie Walsh, who averaged 5.5 kills per set last year. To come back from trailing by seven points at the end of the second set, the Lady Rattlers had to find other ways to score. The team went on a 9-0 run, with none of the points coming from a kill by Walsh.

Junior setter Ruby Gordon sparked the run with an assist to senior outside hitter Joselyn Roberson, who transferred to San Marcos from Buda Hays this offseason. Sharp serving from junior Callissa Castro, who took over libero duties in the second set, kept the Lady Unicorns out of system, leading to an attacking and setting error. Senior middle blocker Emery Jones rejected two shots at the net, energizing her teammates and forcing New Braunfels to call timeout. Roberson added another kill and Jones added another block after the break to tie the score at 24-24, resulting in another timeout by the Lady Unicorns.

Walsh scored an ace to give the purple and white the lead — her only point during the run. New Braunfels committed another attacking error to end the set, giving San Marcos the 26-24 win.

“(New Braunfels is) a very young team, so if you can kind of dial up some pressure on the service line, it helps,” Te’o said. “I think once we won that second set, even if we would have lost it, I think the girls were like, ‘OK, we’re playing better volleyball.’ I think there was a sigh of relief.”

The Lady Rattlers cruised through the final two frames, riding the momentum of completing the rally. The team also got a big lift from freshman right side hitter Brinkley Reeves, who made her varsity debut. Te’o said Walsh didn’t have her best night offensively, but was proud of how she committed to helping the team win by stepping up defensively on the back row.

Gordon also got used to mixing up more of her passes.

“Coming from last season, where it was very obvious who I set most of the time, it’s nice being able to like just spread out my sets more,” Gordon said. “It’s just easier to trick the other side. I mean, people can watch film on us from last year and see who I set the most. So whenever I set (someone else), they’re just not expecting that. So I like having that.”

Four players earned double-doubles during the game: Roberson had 20 kills and 12 digs, Walsh had 14 kills and 19 digs, Reeves had 11 kills and 12 digs and Gordon had 35 assists and 13 digs. Jones also swatted a career-high seven blocks.

According to MaxPreps, Tuesday night’s victory was San Marcos’ first against the Lady Unicorns since 2010 and also snapped a 13-match winning streak for New Braunfels. When the teams shared a district from 2018-19, the Lady Rattlers were swept in all four meetings.

San Marcos will play in a tournament this weekend at Round Rock Westwood beginning Thursday. Te’o was encouraged by his players beating a team that went 14-5 overall last season, but doesn’t want to see them get complacent as New Braunfels also lost several seniors.

Jones said San Marcos can’t afford another slow start.

“I really just think starting off strong (is important),” Jones said. “Like, not having those nerves or shaky moments in the beginning and having a firm serve receive.”