Brownsville Veterans Memorial doesn’t lose very often in District 32-5A volleyball, but it happened Tuesday night at home against Donna High.
The Bravettes did just enough to stay out in front most of the time and won 27-25, 25-16, 23-25, 27-25.
“Donna is an awesome team, and defensively, they were picking everything up,” Brownsville Veterans coach Lisa Mares said. “It was just a matter of which team played with the most consistency.
“I felt we started playing (well) too late,” Mares added. “I don’t know exactly what it was, but I felt our girls started off too nervous. I had a little speech with them (during a timeout), and they finally started to play better.
“We missed some crucial serves at key times, so this is a learning experience for us. You just can’t let that happen when the match is so tight. Hopefully, these girls learn from this loss. There’s still a whole lot of district left.”
The Lady Chargers are the two-time defending 32-5A champions who won the past two titles with a 14-0 record each year.
Tuesday marked their first district loss in three seasons.
Donna High improved to 2-0 in district, while Brownsville Veterans slipped to 1-1.
Both teams were coming off wins in Saturday’s 32-5A openers. Donna High defeated Porter 25-19, 25-22, 25-16, and Brownsville Veterans downed Pace 25-19, 25-11, 25-16.
Donna High coach Cynthia Viesca said the victory was quite an achievement for her team.
“To be able to win here at Brownsville Veterans is very special for us,” Viesca said. “As far as morale and confidence, I think this win is very big. It’s a confidence booster as we get ready to go up against (fellow district favorite) Edcouch-Elsa on Saturday.
“Brownsville Veterans played an awesome match as well,” Viesca added. “They came back and were fighting hard all the way through the match. We finished strong and ended up winning, so it was awesome for us.”
The fourth game was tied at 22 and 25 before a kill by Donna High’s Nicole Rodriguez made it 26-25. On the next point, the Lady Chargers hit the ball into the net, ending the match and lifting the Bravettes to victory.
Rodriguez led her team with 19 kills and five blocks. Also for the Bravettes, Brianna Quesada had 18 kills. Ileana Gallegos added 39 assists, and Bianca Quesada had 21 digs.
For Brownsville Veterans, Pamela Sanchez recorded 11 kills and 19 digs. Dominique Mena added nine kills and 12 digs, and Alexandra Parchmont had 39 digs and Daniella Espinosa had 40 assists.
District 32-5A action continues at 1 p.m. Saturday, as Donna High plays host to E-E and Brownsville Veterans is at Mercedes.