NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
ELSA — New teams in district 32-5A? No problem. New varsity group with last year’s seniors gone and younger players stepping into the fold for Edcouch-Elsa volleyball? No worries. A move to a new position for her senior year? Not an issue for Paloma Ybarra, who continues to be valuable for her team whether she’s setting up her teammates or scoring herself.
“I told them, ‘I want to play all-around,’ so I asked, ‘What do I need to do?’” Ybarra said. “Coach (Gloria Trevino) was like, ‘We need a setter.’ So, I trained with my (club) coach in the summer, all summer. I just love setting. It’s really fun whenever they score off your set. It’s just awesome.”
After spending most of her career as an outside hitter, Ybarra transitioned easily. As Edcouch-Elsa’s team leader in kills in during her sophomore (372) and junior seasons (302), Ybarra knows a thing or two about how to execute on offense. This season, that knowledge is being distributed to her teammates.
E-E coach Trevino said the setter position is crucial to any team’s success and added that she feels she has found the right player for the challenge.
“I was like, ‘Heck yeah, you could set,’” Trevino said. “I said I was a setter, and everywhere I could I call myself the setters coach. ‘Quarterback of the team’ is what we call our setters. I gave her that opportunity to become the setter.”
Ybarra, who reached the milestone of 1,000 kills this season, said she is not at all surprised her team is playing like it didn’t miss a beat following last year’s 13-3 district season.
“Every year, we regroup, and they’re just going to adjust,” Ybarra said. “They’re good players. They’re good athletes. They’ve played the sport before. It’s not like they came in and have never played. They know how to play, know what to do on the court, and they know they have a job to do.”
Juniors Maegan Acevedo and Veronica Elizondo have emerged as key targets for her sets. Sarah Flores and Endiya Devoe have also been earning points as part of a much more balanced Yellow Jackets attack.
“Whenever I set to them, I look at the court and see what’s open so they can score faster,” Ybarra said. “I try to guide them, and if they need their sets higher, I say, ‘OK.’ I don’t get mad. I take it as good response.”
Her favorite target so far has been Elizondo thanks to her left-handed spikes that give opponents a different look to worry about.
“Vero’s a lefty, so it’s a little bit easier to go on the right side,” Ybarra said. “We do quick ones, and I just love when she hits them so good. It makes me so excited. When she’s right side, she has the whole court. She can line. She can go cross. She can go six. She can go sharp.”
Team defense is another big factor in the Yellow Jackets’ 17-9 record and 3-0 start to district play, including an important first-round win against Donna High.
Senior Nedia Ybarra (no relation to Paloma) stands at 6 feet and has her hands high.
Just like Paloma, she’s seen varsity action for four years in a row. During those four years, E-E has had three different head coaches.
Off the court, Nedia won the student council presidency for the senior class. She wants her final high school season to be special and a representation of the perseverance it took to move forward through an abundance of change.
“This year, it’s been different,” Neida said. “I was one of the ones that transitioned from coach (Ofelia) Griffith to coach (Dragan) Mark(ovic) to coach Trevino. It’s very difficult to adjust, but knowing that we have still been on top of our play, it makes me feel good. I can handle anything in life, basically. It’s very difficult to go from one head coach to another.”
The offense has plenty of options, and Neida’s contribution makes the defense solid.
“I definitely try to help my back row a lot,” Neida said. “My libero looks forward to me helping out. I want to play my part as a teammate, also.”