By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
RIO HONDO — The second half of district play got underway Saturday, and it was an ideal start for the Hidalgo Lady Pirates as they swept Rio Hondo 25-13, 25-16, 25-16 to improve to 8-0 in 32-4A and remain in sole possession of first place.
“Today was a complete team effort and win,” Hidalgo coach KeyDee Benavidez said. “We had some good passes to our setters, and our setters were able to get our hitters set up and we were successful. This is a good start to our second half of district play.”
Hidalgo dominated the first set by jumping out to an early 8-1 lead and received an all-around effort from Jackie Garcia, who led the team in kills with seven. Carolina Carbajal finished with 12 digs, Erika Davila had 10 digs and Soleil Garza finished with a team-high 19 assists.
During the second set, Hidalgo shook off a scrappy effort from Rio Hondo. The Lady Cats trailed 8-2 early but battled back and cut the lead to 17-14. The Lady Pirates managed to adjust and used their aggressive offense to pull away late in the second set.
“I don’t know what it is when we play teams like Hidalgo, La Feria and Zapata,” Rio Hondo coach Lizzette Esparza said. “We have to have that winning mentality, and try and get these girls to believe that they can compete. I told the girls Hidalgo went into and blew them out of the water, and we stayed within five points and we were able to close the gaps on them, and we weren’t consistent.”
Alexis Rhyner paced the Rio Hondo offense with 10 kills and eight digs. Julie Delbosque finished with a team-high 28-digs, and Kelsey Pizarro checked in with 11 digs.
Hidalgo now shifts its focus to Progreso. As well as the Lady Pirates have been playing, Benavides feels her club has yet to play its best.
“I really don’t think we have peaked yet,” Benavides said. “I think we need to play a complete game as far as putting the ball in the right place. I think we are showing a lot of improvements in different areas, but, no, I don’t think we have peaked yet.”
As for Rio Hondo, the Lady Cats are 2-6 in district and still mathematically alive for the postseason with six games remaining in the regular season. Rio Hondo will play Port Isabel next.
“Right now, mathematically, it is anybody’s spot for the fourth seed,” Esparza said. “Progreso is ahead of us right now, but if they lose to La Feria then we will be even for the fourth spot. We just need to look at the playoff picture, and I know Grulla wasn’t far behind either.”