KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
HARLINGEN — Tuesday night’s match between Los Fresnos and Harlingen High had all a volleyball fan could ask for.
After dropping the first two sets to the Lady Falcons, the Lady Cardinals rallied to win the next two sets to force a fifth set. Unfortunately for Harlingen, Los Fresnos buckled down and escaped with a 25-17, 25-14, 25-23, 25-23, 15-6 win.
With the victory and a Brownsville Hanna loss, Los Fresnos (10-2) clinched a playoff berth in District 32-6A. The Lady Falcons are still in the mix for a district title with two games remaining. Meanwhile, Harlingen (7-5) is sitting in the fourth spot behind San Benito (8-4), which beat Hanna.
“They (Harlingen) hung in there and battled back,” said Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods. “We let our guard down and they came back and took advantage. I give Harlingen credit because they have improved and played us down to the wire. Harlingen had some great hitting and their libero did a great job tonight. They adjusted well and we were able to counter it and get the win.”
Los Fresnos came out swinging in the first two sets with convincing wins led by Giselle Ibarra, who had a huge performance with 25 digs and 25 kills. Sarah Villarreal picked up 15 digs and fed the offense with a team-high 34 assists.
The Lady Cards had been down two sets before, including against McAllen High earlier in the season. After winning the third set, it looked like the Lady Cards found that magic and rallied to force a fifth set after winning both sets 25-23 behind their seniors Yazmine Martinez and Kirsten Kattan.
“Our seniors stepped up and did not want to lose,” said Harlingen coach Joslynn Torres. “Tonight, I saw the fight and the heart from the kids, I’m proud of them on not giving up. Our seniors stepped up and made plays for us when we needed them to. I told the girls we needed to play with composer and poise, and before the fifth set I told the girls it will come down to who makes fewer mistakes. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes.”
Harlingen battled back in both the third and fifth sets with a strong offensive attack and adjusted its defense, which countered the Los Fresnos attack. Martinez finished with 15 kills, four aces and 11 digs. Kattan notched 12 kills and eight digs.
With two games left in the regular season, the Lady Cards are in control of their own playoff destiny with matches against Hanna and San Benito remaining. The Lady Cards will travel to Hanna on Saturday while Los Fresnos has its sights set on unbeaten Brownsville Rivera, which clinched a share of the league title on Tuesday with a win over Weslaco East.
“We have a quick turnaround and have to get ready for Hanna,” said Harlingen’s Torres. “They’re playing for a playoff spot and so are we. It’s going to be big.”