By KEVIN NARRO
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — While the Battle of the Arroyo will take place Friday night on the gridiron, fans got an early fix of San Benito and Harlingen High as they wrote another chapter in their volleyball rivalry.
In their second match of the regular season, the Lady Cardinals needed a win to keep its playoff hopes alive and earned one, snapping its four-game losing streak.
Like their first match, it took five thrilling sets to decide a winner and, once again, Big Red trumped its rival Lady ’Hounds 25-19, 11-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-11 to complete the season sweep Tuesday night in Harlingen.
“It is crazy,” Harlingen High coach Joslynn Torres said. “It was heartbreaking to see the standings and to see us alone in last place. The message tonight was for us to go out and prove to people that we are not a last-place team, and we did that tonight and I’m proud of the girls’ effort.”
The Lady Cards seized the moment in the fifth set, coming out swinging to take an early 7-4 lead and set the tone. San Benito rallied and trimmed the lead to 12-8, but that was as close as the Lady ’Hounds got.
“It was a crucial win for us, we didn’t come out as strong as we wanted to in the first round, but getting this one is big,” senior Desiree Sanchez said. “This gives us a lot of confidence going into our next match, and for us to beat our biggest rival as a senior, it means so much.”
Sanchez was a key factor in the win. The senior finished with seven blocks, and fellow senior Taegan Dickey led the offense with 22 kills and seven digs, Alina Prado also had a strong night with 10 digs.
With four games remaining, the Lady Cards are in the playoff picture with a 2-4 record and, with Brownsville Rivera losing to Brownsville Hanna on Tuesday, the Lady Raiders also have a 2-4 record. The Lady Raiders hold the tiebreaker.
The Lady Cardinals will play host to Hanna on Saturday, and San Benito will be home to face Harlingen South.
“Tonight it came down to who wanted it more and who made less mistakes in the fifth set,” Torres said. “Our girls kept their focus, and that was important. We have been through so many five-set losses, and that was my message right before we won. We did not want that feeling again for a third straight game. It was great to see tears of joy in our locker room.”
As for the Lady ’Hounds the playoffs are still a possibility. San Benito is on the outside looking in with a 2-4 record and meets South on Saturday.