McAllen Rowe's Brittanie Best was Valley's best in 2009

McALLEN — When it mattered most, she was at her best.

McAllen Rowe’s drive to its first regional tournament appearance in coach Magda Canales’ five-year tenure would not have been possible without the dominating presence of middle blocker Brittanie Best.

“The way she carried herself,” Canales said. “The facial expressions she had, her body English, it all said ‘bring it on.’”

Using her superb athleticism, Best played much taller than her 5-foot-9 stature. The best examples of that came in Rowe’s biggest matches of the season during playoff victories against PSJA High (19 kills, 12 blocks) and Los Fresnos (27 kills and 14 blocks).

“Without her, oh Lord, it would have been real bad,” Rowe’s senior libero Felicia Cano said. “We really relied on her to come up there and she really came through. When she was down, we were down. When she was up, we were pumped up. No matter what, she brought us together.”

Best’s ability to come through in the clutch and lead the Lady Warriors to the Region IV-5A tournament was enough to earn her the Valley Freedom Newspapers’ All-Valley Player of the Year honor.

“In the preseason, we started off a little shaky,” Best said. “We had our ups and downs. In the end, we pulled it all together. We won together and we celebrated together.”

Opposing coaches recognized Best’s strong work as they named her District 30-5A’s Most Valuable Player. Best had 308 blocks, 109 stuff blocks, 306 kills and 135 digs for the season. The Lady Warriors finished 32-9 and advanced to the regional semifinal round when they were eliminated by nationally-ranked San Antonio O’Connor.

The Lady Warriors entered district play as the team to beat because they had a strong returning core, led by Best. A 5-2 (with losses to McAllen Memorial and McAllen High) record during the first round of district fell short of expectations, and that served as motivation.

“That was a big wake-up call with us being off as a team, especially in district play,” Best said. “We couldn’t let that happen. We needed to make a statement in district, and we did that.”

Rowe went 7-0 in the second part of district, avenging those losses, and finished in a three-way tie with Memorial and McHi for the district title. The Lady Warriors then defeated both in a playoff to take the top playoff seed from 30-5A.

“It was really important,” Best said. “We really wanted to be in first place and show people we deserved to be in first place.”

And along the way, Best’s leadership skills developed, Canales said. The coach expects to see a lot more of that next season in what is sure to be another tough battle in district.

“She knows who she can yell at, and she knows who she needs to pat on the back,” Canales said. “It’s in her to be in the action and making things happen, not only for herself but for her team.”

David Hinojosa covers high school volleyball for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via e-mail at dhinojosa@themonitor.com

BIO BOX

BRITTANIE BEST

School: McAllen Rowe

Position: MB

Grade: Junior

Stats: 308 blocks, 109 stuff blocks, 306 kills and 135 digs

Notable: District 30-5A MVP