By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The seventh annual Volley at the Beach tournament begins at 1 p.m. today with pool play in Port Isabel’s main and practice gyms.
The three-day tournament has a field of 12 teams divided into three groups. The first two days will be devoted to pool play with bracket play scheduled on Saturday. The championship match is set for 5 p.m. Saturday in the main gym.
Harlingen South defeated Weslaco East last year for the tournament title. Harlingen South is not returning, but Weslaco East figures to be one of the favorites this year along with fellow Class 6A schools Hanna, PSJA Southwest and Corpus Christi Carroll.
Other teams entered include host Port Isabel, Lopez, Monte Alto, Progreso, Santa Rosa, La Feria, Rio Hondo and West Oso.
The action starts with six matches in each of the gyms and will continue at 10 a.m. Friday and at 9 a.m. Saturday.
“I think all the teams we have entered should be pretty solid,” said Julie Breedlove, fifth-year coach. “We’re looking forward to another competitive tournament.”
The 2017 volleyball season began on Aug. 7 and the first round of tournaments took place last weekend. Other teams from the Metro-area (Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Pace, Rivera and Porter) are playing at a tournament in Mission this week, while Los Fresnos is playing in the Northeast ISD Tournament in San Antonio. Harlingen South will be playing in the Sinton Tournament.
PASSIONATE COACH
Dolores Olguin-Trevino has had a passion for the game of volleyball pretty much her entire life.
She’s coached at Hanna and Los Fresnos, and now she’s been entrusted with developing the volleyball program at St. Joseph Academy once the school decided to add the sport.
The Lady Bloodhounds have made progress during the last couple of years and now they’re playing their first season as a varsity team. The progress is evident by the team’s scores. On Tuesday, St. Joseph defeated Juan Diego Academy 25-20, 25-4, 25-15. Prior to that, St. Joseph defeated Rio Hondo.
“I want to teach them to love the game as much as me, if that’s possible,” Olguin-Trevino said.
“I’m super proud of these girls,” she added. “Of course, we’re very young, so once we get a little bit more experience under out belts, we should be good.”
The Lady Bloodhounds next play at Brownsville Athlos on Friday.
COWGIRLS TO WATCH
Porter is a young team this season.
The girls leading the way for the Cowgirls include Brenda Garcia, Bridgette Ortiz and Aliah Quirk. Garcia and Ortiz are juniors, while Quirk is a sophomore.
“We have a whole handful of freshmen who with experience are going to dominate,” said Ariel Arredondo, the team’s second-year coach.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess