NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — PSJA North remained in position to take the fourth and final playoff spot, but not without a wave of drama.
Saturday’s district tilt between PSJA North and PSJA High all came down to the fifth set.
PSJA North battled through a slow start to stay on course for the fourth and final playoff spot in the district.
The Raiders improved to 6-3 in 30-6A play via a 26-24, 25-21, 11-25, 23-25, 17-15 win over the cross-town rival Bears on the road.
“It’s good to come out on top because the Bears have always been our rivalry school,” Mikaela Guerrero said. “We put up a fight. They’re just as good of a team as we are and we knew that coming in. They wanted it just as bad as we did but we put up the better fight and we ended up with the win. I’m glad that we did because this secured our spot in playoffs.”
Guerrero and Clarissa Alvarez led the way for North, both with 14 kills. They also tied for the team lead with two aces apiece along with Lesley Rodriguez and Mariana Juarez.
Rodriguez led the team in assists with 42.
With so many athletes able to score on offense, Guerrero said her team is tough to predict.
“It benefits our team a lot more because we don’t rely on just one person,” Guerrero said. “Our front row can hit, our back row can hit. We usually hit middle and outside which is what we practice the most.”
The Raiders seemed to be in good position to make quick work of the Bears, jumping out to a 2-0 lead through the first two sets. That’s when the match turned on its head and PSJA High made a strong push.
Karina Garduno was the Bears best attacker but she wasn’t alone, Catia Cavazos provided the best serves for the Bears and Sydney Escobar set up her attackers.
PSJA High used North mistakes and their best game of the day to win the third set 25-11. The Bears had sizable leads in the fourth at 22-17 and 24-19 before finally forcing the fifth set 25-23.
“We were struggling in the third and fourth set and we eventually found our way out of the match,” Angel Lozano said. “We were pushing and trying so hard and it worked at the end. We just needed to let all the bad energy out. We needed to communicate more. Then we were talking, we weren’t letting anything drop.”
Alexya Salinas had 47 digs and Victoria Trevino had 34, many of them thwarting kill attempts by PSJA High.
North coach Alicia Jaime broke down the team’s plan coming in and their roadmap to the win.
“The first time around we came through with four sets and this time we wanted to close it in three but it’s always unpredictable,” Jaime said. “We started playing it too safe where we were just getting pounded on defense. When we started attacking and playing our game that’s when we were picking up points and winning the sets we need to win.”
Lozano, who had 30 digs and two blocks, said that having multiple hitters capable of scoring for the team means no matter who is on or off, another player can pick up the slack.
“If the ball is set right it’s going to get laid down,” Lozano said.
The win had postseason implication because the Raiders don’t have a district loss outside of the three powerhouse McAllen program, which are clinging to the top-three spots in the standings. If that trend continues, PSJA High and Mission High won’t have enough matches to bump North from that final spot.
Jaime said Saturday’s match was vital to their goals.
“We’ve been working hard for that fourth spot,” Jaime said. “It’s been a tough group that we have. It all comes down to us and Bears and Mission fighting for that spot, we knew this game was crucial for us to get through.”