By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
LA JOYA — The Los Fresnos volleyball team is following the same playoff path that led the Lady Falcons to the Region IV-6A Tournament last year.
It’s anything but an easy journey, as the Lady Falcons experienced Saturday during their Class 6A area-round match against Laredo Alexander at the La Joya Palmview gym.
After barely breaking a sweat during last Tuesday’s 3-0 bi-district sweep of PSJA North, things became much more difficult Saturday for the Lady Falcons as they displayed the resolve to battle back and prevail over the Lady Bulldogs 20-25, 25-21, 25-16, 26-24.
Losing the first game 25-20 to a determined and practically error-free Alexander squad with the same height, steady serving, skillful digging abilities and power hitting was a jolting wakeup call for the Lady Falcons.
“Oh my gosh, we were all sweating bullets (after that opening game),” said Miranda Gonzales, the Lady Falcons’ senior setter.
“Honestly, it was our passion (that was the difference),” Gonzales added. “We all love the sport so much and we put so much hard work into it. That’s really what it came down to. It was such a big win, and we really proved that we deserve to be in the running for state.”
District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos (39-8), ranked No. 2 in the Rio Grande Valley, advances to the regional quarterfinal round of the 6A playoffs to face District 30-6A runner-up and fourth-ranked McAllen Memorial (35-4) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at a neutral site to be determined. District 29-6A runner-up Alexander ended its season at 30-12.
“We had to just stay positive and not give up on the ball,” said Joseline Caraveo, Los Fresnos’ senior middle blocker whose strong play at the net early, including some decisive kills, seemed to spark her teammates. “We stayed strong and played for God. I just wanted to bring my team up because we were already down from losing the first set. I had to play my hardest to help my team.”
The Lady Falcons’ determination began to manifest itself during the second game. There were eight ties in the set, the last of which came at 18. Kills by Caraveo put Los Fresnos ahead 19-18, 21-19 and 22-20. Errors by the Lady Bulldogs started to surface as a serve went long, giving the Lady Falcons a 24-21 advantage. A hitting error by Alexander allowed Los Fresnos to win the second game 25-21, and the Lady Falcons were on their way.
Los Fresnos cruised to a 25-16 victory during the third game. Still, Alexander wasn’t quite ready to give up. The Lady Bulldogs surged ahead early during the fourth game and led by as many as seven points, 12-5.
At that point, the match appeared destined to go five games, but the Lady Falcons refused to relinquish the set and again came roaring back. A kill by Sam Ibarra allowed Los Fresnos to tie the score at 15. Then there were ties at 16, 17 and 20. But it didn’t look good when the Lady Falcons hit the ball out of bounds to give Alexander a 24-21 edge. That’s when, for some reason, the Lady Bulldogs began committing a few more errors and Los Fresnos started making a few more plays.
A kill by Caraveo brought the score to 24-22, and then the Lady Bulldogs hit the ball into the net on back-to-back points, allowing Los Fresnos to pull even once again at 24. An Alexander kill attempt sailed just long to lift the Lady Falcons into the lead at 25-24, and seconds later, another strong kill by Ibarra clinched the set and match 26-24.
“It took a lot of teamwork and being confident in each other (to win this one),” Ibarra said. “It took working together and giving all the glory to God. We knew we had to work a little harder after losing that first game. It was just an amazing win.”
Earlier this season, the Lady Falcons played the Lady Bulldogs at the Poundfest Tournament on Aug. 14 in McAllen, and Los Fresnos won 10-25, 25-22, 15-8.
Los Fresnos was coming off Tuesday’s 25-12, 25-12, 25-7 bi-district win against PSJA North.
On Saturday, Caraveo led Los Fresnos with 18 kills and contributed eight digs. Sam Ibarra had 14 kills with 13 blocks, and teammate Jackie Kingsbury added eight kills, 10 digs and seven blocks.
Also for the Lady Falcons, Gonzales finished with 26 assists. Giselle Ibarra had nine digs and four blocks, and Isis Delgado and Alexis Cuello contributed 12 and seven digs, respectively. Cassie Parra added five kills.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.