By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — The Harlingen South Lady Hawks knew in their hearts they had one of the best volleyball teams in District 32-6A.
Saturday was the day they proved it to themselves and everyone else.
Having lost twice already to 32-6A leader Los Fresnos and once to district second-place Rivera, it was a different story Saturday at the Lady Raiders’ gym.
The Lady Hawks came out on fire and didn’t let up in sweeping past the Lady Raiders 25-21, 25-21, 25-15.
South lost at home to Rivera 25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 25-22 on Sept. 28 during the first round of 32-6A play.
“This feels really great,” said Mikela Mireles, a senior all-around player for the Lady Hawks who leads the team in hitting. “The first time we played Rivera in district was a really tough loss for us. We knew they had stolen one from us, and we really wanted to get back into the running for a high spot in the district standings. This win helped us get there.
“I think this win really makes us feel a lot more confident going into the postseason,” Mireles added. “Rivera has a very good defensive team, and we do as well. It just shows how composed we were able to stay today to get this win.”
Los Fresnos, a 25-15, 25-10, 25-21 winner against Harlingen High on Saturday, is the 32-6A leader with an 8-0 record. South and Rivera now share second place in the district with 5-3 records. Harlingen High and Brownsville Hanna are tied in fourth place at 3-5, and one of them will make it to the playoffs. San Benito is 0-8.
Two match dates remain on the 32-6A schedule in the six-team district.
“We knew this match was going to be tough, so I’m glad to see how we showed up (to play),” Lady Hawks coach Anissa Lucio said. “This win helps boost our confidence, especially (now) that we’re here in the second round. This is what we needed. We wanted this win before (during the first round of district), and now that we got it this time, it’s going to help us for sure.
“I just thought the difference today was our composure,” Lucio added. “I thought our girls were composed, and we knew we had to keep on staying in control and we did that, so our composure was really good.
“I’m just proud of our girls and how they showed up today, and I’m excited for the rest of the second round (of district). Our girls are playing well, so we’re definitely going to use the confidence (gained from this win) in the future.”
Saturday’s opening set got off to a close start, but it wasn’t long before the Lady Hawks surged to leads of seven points with scores of 18-11, 19-12 and 20-13. Eventually, a hit off a Rivera player carried out and gave South a 25-21 win in the first game.
Rivera went up 13-12 during the second game when South hit into the net, but the Lady Hawks forced a tie at 13 and went ahead for good, 14-13, on a service ace by Mya Pearl Aguirre.
The Lady Hawks won the second game 25-21 when the Lady Raiders hit a ball out on the final point of the set.
South led 8-0, 10-2, 20-10 and 24-12 en route to taking the third set 25-15 on a powerful kill by Mireles.
Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra let her team know she was displeased with its subpar showing after the match.
“Harlingen South played really well,” she said. “They came to win. They showed a lot of desire, they went after the ball and they didn’t let it drop. We, on the other hand, were very flat today. The girls did not play together. We had little sparks where we would play well, but then we’d just go flat again. I don’t know why that happened. We just did not play well today.
“South really stepped up and did a good job,” Avelar-Guerra added. “They came to win.”
Leaders in stats for the Lady Raiders were Kenya Ibarra (20 kills, 12 digs), Clarissa Olivares (35 assists, 11 digs), Richelle Guerra (20 digs) and Christina Garza (six kills, nine digs).
For the Lady Hawks, the stat leaders were Mireles (23 kills, 18 digs), Aguirre (10 kills, 18 assists, 13 digs), Alexa Encinia (16 assists, 10 digs), Odemarys Vidana (three kills, three blocks), Allyah Guevara (16 digs), Zoe Garcia (29 digs) and Evelyn Yanez (26 digs).