By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Pace started slow but bounced back.
The Lady Vikings dropped the first game then found their rhythm to take three straight games against Lopez during a 21-25, 28-26, 25-14, 25-12 victory Tuesday at Pace.
Pace started slow and eventually dropped Game 1 as the Lobos took advantage of the Lady Vikings’ mistakes.
“After the first game, I told them they need to hold themselves accountable for what they do in practice and that’s going to translate over to the game,” Pace coach Gavin Rudder said. “When you have lazy practices, that’s what’s going to come out and happen, you’re going to play lazy. That intermission helped us. We had time to regroup, and we were able to go out and do what we did.”
The teams went back and forth in Game 2. Pace held a 19-11 lead, but Lopez came back to tie it at 21. The teams traded points down the stretch, and Pace outlasted the Lady Lobos in the second game.
Pace quickly built a double-digit lead in Game 3 and led by as many as 16 points. Lopez tried to come back but didn’t close the gap, and the Lady Vikings took a 2-1 lead.
Rudder felt the depth of his team made the difference.
“I have a bench that we can put anyone in and we don’t fall back,” he said. “That’s how deep my bench is (this year), so it’s good.”
During Game 4, the Lady Vikings started strong again, holding an 18-5 advantage at one point. The Lady Lobos made a valiant effort but did not get close enough as Pace took the game and the match.
“We took a lot from this game,” Lopez coach Jacquelynn Touchet said. “They started off really well the first two games, they were amazing … they came out today and I was so proud of them, the way they were just working together. The last two games we fell a little, but it’s a learning experience. I still feel positive even though we took the loss, now I know what we can work on.
“We weren’t able to push back up, but that’s something we’ve been working on and something we can overcome this season.”
Valeria Varela led Pace with 11 kills, Tania Velez and Katelynn Quezada posted seven kills apiece, Jessica Aguilar had 19 assists and Ebony Casanova finished with 32 digs.
Rudder praised his team for the progress it has made.
“This group is in its third year in the program, so they’re starting to get the hang of it,” he said. “They like each other, and this is probably the best at being a team that I’ve had so far.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.