By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
As far as huge wins go on a scale of 1 to 10, Pace’s 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 triumph over Porter in District 32-5A volleyball Saturday was clearly a 10.
At least that’s the way the Pace girls felt after winning a match at home against their crosstown district rival that greatly improves the Lady Vikings’ chances of making the playoffs.
The teams are now tied for fourth place in 32-5A with 5-6 records. Three matches remain on the district schedule, and only one of them will advance to the postseason as Edcouch-Elsa, PSJA High and Donna High have clinched playoff berths from 32-5A.
“This was probably the best feel-good win we’ve had all season,” Pace coach Gavin Rudder said. “It’s always a huge match when we play Porter. It’s probably one of the better rivalries here in Brownsville. When we get together, it always is a big match and it means a lot to each team. I couldn’t have dreamed this (ending) any better.”
The Cowgirls had beaten Pace 25-17, 26-24, 25-14 during the first round of district Sept. 22 at Porter.
During Saturday’s opening game, Pace built leads of seven points twice, 19-12 and 20-13, before Porter battled back and narrowed the lead to 22-20. From there, the Lady Vikings reeled off three of the next four points to take the first set 25-21 on a kill.
Porter never led during the second game as Pace held the advantage practically the entire way. The Cowgirls stayed close, though, and tied the score at 22. But their hitting errors allowed Pace to score the final two points and win 25-22.
There were ties at 8, 9, 15 and 16 during the third set, but once again, the Lady Vikings pulled away to win 25-20 and take the match as the Cowgirls hit the ball out of bounds on the final point.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” said Porter assistant Vanessa Mata, who replaced Cowgirls coach Laura Fortner on Saturday as Fortner was receiving her master’s degree in education at Grand Canyon University in Arizona. “We have a team full of seniors, and our girls really wanted to win this match.”
Marquel Rivera led Porter with 25 assists, seven digs, four kills and three aces. Teammate Karla Sosa had 14 kills and two blocks, and Karen Garcia added 18 digs.
For Pace, Valeria Varela was a standout with 10 kills, six digs, one block and one ace. Ashley Gutierrez added nine kills and seven digs, and Jessica Aguilar contributed 19 digs and 18 assists. Also for Pace, Ebony Casanova had 25 digs and two aces.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.