By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Even though Los Fresnos won the first two games, it was never an easy match for the Lady Falcons as they prevailed at home against the Edinburg High Lady Bobcats 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22 on Monday night in the Class 6A bi-district playoffs.
District 32-6A runner-up Los Fresnos (27-11) advances to an area-round matchup against Laredo United or Mission High later this week. The volleyball season came to a close for the DIstrict 31-6A third-place Lady Bobcats (21-14).
“The team has worked really hard all season, and to get this win feels very good,” said Los Fresnos’ Emma Stambaugh, a junior outside hitter. “We’re going to work even harder now.”
Added teammate Giselle Ibarra, a senior outside hitter, “It’s amazing. We haven’t really been playing our game and today we played really well. We’ve been picking it up, so I’m really glad.
“We knew Edinburg High was going to get stronger with each game, so we just had to work together, build the chemistry and play as a team,” Ibarra added.
Ibarra and Stambaugh finished with 21 and 11 kills, respectively.
The Lady Bobcats were ahead by as many as six points, 20-14, on their way to winning the third game 25-23.
It became an even closer battle in the fourth game as there were 10 ties with the last deadlock coming at 16-16. It remained close until the very end as the Lady Falcons held on to leads of 22-21, 23-22 and 24-23 and recorded two of the last three points on miscues by the Lady Bobcats.
“Los Fresnos is a heck of a team, they are every single year,” Lady Bobcats coach Deanna Dominguez said. “(Los Fresnos) Coach (Becky)
Woods does an amazing job. Their No. 5 Giselle (Ibarra) was a great attacker and all the rest of her teammates did a really good job of blocking and serving and helping her out.
“I thought we had a fighting chance, but we missed four serves in one set (the fourth one) and it’s like impossible to finish the game (with a win) when you do that,” Dominguez added. “Those missed serves were very critical for us because it was a close match. We’re a young group, and I think more than anything else, we were a little nervous (at the start). With the exception of my two middle blockers (seniors Tianna Howard and Natalie Martinez) everyone else is pretty young.
“I’m excited and proud of our girls. We weren’t supposed to do much this year, so this was a great learning experience because most of these players will be back for us next season.”
Howard and Martinez were a handful for the Lady Falcons as they recorded 29 and 17 kills, respectively. Martinez had seven bocks and Howard four.
Also for Edinburg High, Maria Reyes had 11 digs, eight kills and one block, while Lorissa Gonzalez and Renee Ponce had 24 and 13 digs, respectively. Ponce also contributed 53 assists and two serving aces.
For Los Fresnos, Ibarra had 21 digs and four blocks to go with her 21 kills. Teammate Sarah Villarreal contributed 26 assists, 14 digs and nine kills, while Natalie Leal added 19 assists and seven digs. Isis Delgado had 24 digs.
RIVERA DEF. EDINBURG NORTH
District 32-6A champion Rivera (29-10) opened the 6A bi-district playoffs with a 27-25, 25-19, 25-22 victory at home against District 31-6A fourth-place Edinburg North (12-25) on Monday.
Stephanie Garza, a senior outside hitter for Rivera, sparked the Lady Raiders with 16 kills and seven digs, while teammate Victoria Zuniga had 13 kills. Also for Rivera, Maddie Blanco had 22 digs and Mayra Martinez had nine kills.
The Lady Raiders next face McAllen High or Laredo Alexander in the second round of the playoffs later this week.
SHARYLAND HIGH DEF. BRO VETS
The season came to a premature close for Brownsville Veterans Memorial on Monday as the District 32-5A champion Lady Chargers lost to District 31-5A fourth-place Sharyland High 25-23, 23-25, 18-25, 25-20, 15-12.
The Lady Chargers ended the season with a 25-8 record. Sharyland High moves on to play San Antonio Harlandale or Flour Bluff later this week.