For two years, O’Connor High School junior MacKenzie Mahr sat and watched. All she could do was be a cheerleader for her teammates and ponder what might have been if her body hadn’t betrayed her.

Mahr missed her freshman season in 2018 with a fractured left arm, suffered during a college volleyball camp when another player collided with her and fell on the arm, causing it to snap in half. In 2019, she was sidelined for the season with a devastating left knee injury suffered during a club tournament. “I tore, basically, everything,” Mahr said.

Little by little, though, the bones and ligaments healed. The skills and abilities returned. These days, only a knee brace — “my safety blanket,” Mahr said — gives any indication there once was a physical hardship.
It’s been a long road back for Mahr. It’s a journey she said has been worthwhile, because it allowed her to enjoy moments like Saturday that much more.

Mahr played a pivotal role as O’Connor started and finished strong and defeated Brandeis 25-15, 25-18, 25-21 in a showdown of unbeaten teams.

“People got to see what I am able to do after two years,” said Mahr, who finished with 16 kills and three aces. “It’s just great to finally be able to help out the team this year instead of being on the bench.”

In the previous 12 seasons, this matchup has usually integral in which team captured a district championship. But Brandeis was moved into a league with North East ISD schools during the UIL’s realignment in February.
The stakes made have changed, but the intensity remained.

With a packed crowd — at least, by current social distancing standards — the contest quickly took on the playoff-like atmosphere.

“It was just a confidence-booster,” Mahr said. “It was good to play a team that was really good, that play hard against us. It was definitely challenging.”

Mahr helped the Panthers (10-0) be up for the challenge, netting five kills and an ace in the opening set. What she started, senior Lexi Davila finished in the third frame. Davila tallied 10 of her 21 kills as O’Connor used a late surge to record the sweep.

Brandeis (8-1) led 21-20 in the third set and was looking to extend the contest. But O’Connor reeled off the final five points.

“I really enjoy every single day because they’re playing like a team, and it’s taking every single person on the team to win games,” O’Connor coach Yami Garcia said. “That’s what I as a coach loves most. I was really, really pleased with tonight. They have a strong mindset about where they want to be in the playoffs.”

Sandwiched between the strong performances from Mahr and Davila was O’Connor’s trademark defense. The Panthers scrambled and dove to pick up a relentless wave of blistering attacks from Brandeis’ Jalyn Gibson, Carlee Pharris and Emma Halstead, turning what usually would be a kill into another unimaginable dig.

Leading the charge was libero Bryshanna Brown, who in one sequence kicked the ball to keep a play alive. The Panthers eventually won the point.

“That’s my first instinct to do — kick,” said Brown, a University of Houston commit who played soccer for nine years growing up. “We wanted to put it all out there, give it our all, and just go out there and have fun.”

O’Connor had the time of its life Saturday, never trailing in the first set and using a 5-0 run to overturn an early two-point deficit and grab control in the second stanza against Brandeis, which played most of the contest without junior middle blocker/outside hitter Leila Smalls, who appeared to tweak her right knee late in the first set. Smalls had an ice pack on the knee for the rest of the match, but left the gymnasium under her own power.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1