BY ROY HESS | STAFF WRITER
Undoubtedly, there will be better days ahead in District 32-6A volleyball for the Hanna Lady Golden Eagles.
Conversely, just about everything the Rivera Lady Raiders did went right in Saturday’s
32-6A opener at home against Hanna.
The Lady Raiders started strong and didn’t let up in dispatching the Lady Eagles 25-10, 25-12, 25-12 to get off to a 1-0 beginning in the conference race, while Hanna now must deal with an 0-1 record at least until it resumes district action Tuesday.
The 32-6A opener featured a matchup between two teams that went to the playoffs a year ago. Both squads have enjoyed a measure of success so far this season with their pre-district schedules and figure to be in the thick of the playoff race again this year.
But on Saturday, Rivera’s more consistent defensive play seemed to be the biggest difference between the Lady Raiders and Lady Eagles. Rivera had an answer for just about everything Hanna sent over the net, and as a result, it was evident in the score during each game, although the Lady Eagles tied it 10-10 in the second set before falling 25-12.
“We’ve been working really hard on our defense,” Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said. “Our hitting has been good, but there were times when we were getting caught in the wrong spots on the floor, so the girls have been working really hard to improve. We’ve been getting better defensively, and I think it really showed today.
“Hanna tried to tip on us and we defended it, they tried to hit on us and we defended that well also, for the most part,” she added. “Our blockers went up quick and our hitters moved the ball around. The girls just played very well.”
The Lady Raiders overcame some preliminary jitters about playing their first district contest of the season, then came together and wound up dominating play.
“We were very nervous about coming into our first district match, and I just told the girls we needed to work together and start out strong,” said Rivera outside hitter Litzy Medina, a senior team captain. “We knew Hanna was going to come at us with everything because they want the district title, too. But we showed we wanted it more and we have to continue working hard for it.
“I’m just proud that we were able to take the ‘W’ today,” she added. “I’m very excited for the season and beyond proud of all the girls on the team.”
Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said there will be better days down the road for his team.
“We didn’t have a very successful day today,” he said. “We just didn’t get into the match. We lost our momentum (early) and the Lady Raiders did a good job against us.
“A loss (to start district) is never good,” the Hanna coach added. “But this is just the first one and we’re going to regroup for our next match.”
District action continues Tuesday as Hanna plays host to Weslaco High and Rivera visits Harlingen High.
Leading the way for Rivera on the stat sheet Saturday were Stephanie Garza (14 kills, 16 digs), Mayra Martinez (seven kills, two blocks), Victoria Zuniga (seven kills, two blocks), Medina (five kills, four digs), Kourtney Shears (six kills, three aces, 27 assists) and Madelaine Blanco (19 digs, five aces).
For Hanna, the stat leaders were Xitlali Montes de Oca (three kills, four digs), Nataly Davila (two kills, two blocks), Ariana Arceneaux (two kills, four blocks), Odalys Gonzalez (one kill, four blocks), Elyani Perez (five assists) and Tabitha Fernandez (16 digs).