PORT NECHES — What Port Neches-Groves achieved on the volleyball court this season is almost unreal.

The District 22-5A championship? Well, the Rock-A-Noos have won many of those.

The 14-0 district record? That’s a sign of their trademark consistency.

“There was a time we won, I think, 60 consecutive district ballgames,” 47th-year PNG coach Barbara Comeaux said, referring to a streak in the 1990s.

Of the 14 district games, PNG (28-5) scored sweeps in 13 of them. The Rock-A-Noos’ winning streak is now 16, dating back to a Sept. 15 four-set win at Tarkington.

“It’s unbelievable,” senior Libbie LeJeune said. “Each game, we got better and better. We worked as a team. It didn’t matter if we were down or we were up, we kept staying together.”

This is a team that, like others in Southeast Texas, had to recover from a number of missed practice days and a partially compressed district schedule to run the 22-5A table.

Not only that, PNG had its share of injuries to key players and battles of sickness to overcome in winning 16 straight. Junior Kaitlyn Gil said that was the Noos’ biggest adversity since coming back from Tropical Storm Harvey.

“We had to be thrown in new lineups that we never practiced before, stuff like that,” Gil said.

While season statistics weren’t available, many of the Rock-A-Noos’ names constantly dotted the Noos’ scoresheets each game, a sign of their all-around ability on the court.

“We couldn’t have done it with our team because we need a set. Without a set, we need a dig. Without a dig, we need a good block. So, it’s a team thing,” LeJeune said.

PNG earned its 16th straight win Friday evening in a warm-up for the playoffs against Huffman Hargrave, a 4A playoff qualifier — chalking up its 14th sweep (25-23, 25-11, 25-20) during the streak. LeJeune and Gil were looking forward to the match so they could stay fresh before Tuesday’s 5A bi-district round game against Crosby at Goose Creek Memorial.

“If we get down, we can’t stay down,” LeJeune said. “We have to continue to push.”

This year’s district championship is the 31st under Comeaux, the Texas Girls Coaches Association Hall-of-Famer. They’re going into their 35th straight UIL playoffs, hoping to surpass last season’s run to the 5A Region III quarterfinal, a loss to Barbers Hill.

“I believe we’re readier than we were last year,” Comeaux said, “having several skill players back from last year and building on that momentum and experience that they got last year. Don’t get me wrong; it’s still going to be tough. You’ve got to play every game. Their mindset is stronger and more competitive as a team.”

The Rock-A-Noos’ dominance is proof of their ability to overcome plenty of obstacles beginning with Harvey’s interruption of their season. In their first match back since the storm, they beat a team they had lost to in their match prior to Harvey.

“I think Hurricane Harvey got these girls to appreciate their sport and appreciate their teammates and what they have more,” assistant coach Brittany Fruge said. “They would have had to do without it. They had to do without playing. Their season was questionable. For the seniors, that was heartbreaking. They were worried they wouldn’t have a season. When they got the chance to come back, these kids were on fire, thankful to be back. We got through two-a-days a little bit, a little bit of burnout going on there, and when they came back, they were like, ‘Finally, I’m so glad to be back. I’m thankful for it.’”

PNG can now appreciate a season that’s been extended at least two more matches — Friday’s warm-up and Tuesday’s bi-district.

“I’m just going to play every play like it’s my last,” LeJeune said. “I’m going to give it everything I have. Even though the underclassmen know it may be our last game, they’re going to push as hard as we will.”
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I.C. Murrell: 549-8541. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews

**CORRECTS overall record for PNG**