Adam Kujawski, Staff Writer
Los Fresnos proved why it is one of the top teams in the Rio Grande Valley as the Lady Falcons defeated Brownsville Veterans Memorial 24-26, 25-15, 25-14, 25-15 in District 32-6A action Tuesday night at Los Fresnos.
Cheers from the fans for both the Lady Falcons (25-9, 5-0) and the visiting Lady Chargers (23-10, 4-1) resonated throughout the gym when this match got under way. But the energy soon disappeared from the Lady Chargers’ faithful, and chants of “Let’s go Falcons!” filled the gym as Los Fresnos imposed its will in Games 2, 3 and 4.
“I love this crowd. I love how everybody comes out and supports us,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said after the match. “I couldn’t ask for a better community and crowd.”
The Lady Falcons jumped out to a 14-7 lead during the first game, and it appeared as though the Lady Chargers were in for a rough night, but Brownsville Veterans went on a 13-6 run to pull even.
Los Fresnos was within one point of sealing the game, but the Lady Chargers won three straight points to edge the Lady Falcons 26-24 in Game 1.
It was all downhill from there for Brownsville Veterans, though. The Lady Falcons flipped the switch and rolled the Lady Chargers in dominating fashion during the next three games.
Unforced errors and poor defensive play by Brownsville Veterans were to blame for the three-game slide.
“The first game we came out good and then I think we kind of relaxed,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said. “Our passing killed us. We couldn’t pass the ball to save our lives.
“(Our team needs) to keep working in practice and be ready to meet up with (Los Fresnos later in the season).”
During Game 2, Brownsville Veterans was clinging to hope when it was behind 13-8, but Los Fresnos ramped up its offense and pulled away to win by 10 points.
The third and fourth games were similar. The Lady Falcons distanced themselves from the Lady Chargers by several points each time, and Brownsville Veterans did not sniff a comeback.
“We needed this (match) because we know what it’s like,” Woods said. “We’ve got to play over (at Brownsville Veterans) at the end of the year.
“(Our team) wants to go a long way this year, and we’ve got to win every game in district.”
The Lady Falcons’ Joseline Caraveo led all players with 17 kills, and libero Alex Moya added 17 digs. Mariza Cardenas led the Lady Chargers in kills with 10 and teammate Krista Lopez chipped in 23 digs.
Los Fresnos next will travel to Hanna for a match at noon Saturday. Brownsville Veterans will play host to Lopez at noon that day.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.