By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Port Isabel’s District 32-4A campaign got off to a rough start Tuesday night.
The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons fought their way through early deficits in the final two sets and the loss of one of their top players in a four-set loss to the Raymondville Lady Bearkats, 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-12, in both teams’ 32-4A opening match at Port Isabel.
The two teams split the first two sets, and Raymondville took advantage of unforced errors and strong serves from Celeste Salazar and Briana Garcia to take 10-1 lead at the start of the third.
Raymondville had Port Isabel at a 15-3 deficit, but the Lady Tarpons’ started to climb their way back into the set.
June Ochoa set up Clara Christensen for a strong kill that touched off an 11-point streak that eventually tied the third at 19-19.
An errant serve gave the Lady Bearkats the lead, but an error and two kills by Olivia Soliz put Port Isabel ahead by two. Raymondville erased Port Isabel’s lead with two straight points and ended the match on a 5-1 streak to kill the Lady Tarpons’ momentum.
“We got to learn that once we make that push, we have to stay up there,” Port Isabel coach Julia Breedlove said. “In the same game, we had a little server up there (Sabrina Garza). She made a run for that and put us in a pretty good position. We just had too many little mistakes, and it’s the little mistakes that are getting us right now.”
The Lady Tarpons suffered a major blow on the set point when Soliz collided with another Port Isabel player and fell to the ground with a knee injury. She was not able to return to the match.
The Lady Bearkats rolled out to a 7-1 lead in set four, a deficit Port Isabel wasn’t able to erase. The Lady Tarpons came within four points of Raymondville, but an 8-3 surge by the Lady Bearkats put them away.
Soliz had 11 kills to lead the Lady Tarpons. Simone Harry had eight kills and five digs, and Carolina Guevara had 19 assists. Garza had four aces, including three in the third set.
Breedlove said Port Isabel’s bench had a strong night, which will help with the rest of the district slate still ahead.
“They came in and made some key plays, and that was good to see, the kids coming in off the bench and having to step in and fill in for an injury where that’s maybe a position they’re not playing a lot,” she said. “That was promising. I know we have a little bit of depth on the bench now.”
Mireya Cervantes led Raymondville with eight kills and two blocks. Audrey Zavala had seven kills, six digs and three assists. Libero Ashly Cantu had 11 digs.
“My girls played really well today,” Raymondville coach Norma T. Rodriguez said. “They’ve been doing well the last few games. They finally came together as a team, and they’ve been doing well.”
Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.