By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
Lopez volleyball coach Gaby Maraboto knew her team needed to bring a little something extra going into this edition of the Battle of the Southmost on the hardwood.
The Lady Lobos got the spark they needed to outlast District 32-5A rival Porter in four games, 25-13, 18-25, 30-28, 26-24 on Saturday at Lopez.
During the decisive fourth game, Lopez sprinted out to a 6-1 lead after a marathon third set that quickly became 7-1 and then 8-2 after a block and a kill by Katherin Rodriguez. The Lady Lobos never looked back, even after a furious Porter rally squared the game at 22.
“Even if we have a good lead and we have long rallies going on, we never relax on the court,” Maraboto said. “Just because we’re up 10-0 or 8-0, it doesn’t mean that we can get complacent and chill out there and relax. We have to battle — each and every single point we have to fight through so we can stay on top and keep that lead.”
After cruising to victory during the first game, Lopez ran into a buzzsaw in the second game in the form of the dynamic Porter duo of Micaela Garcia and Azaneth Perez. Lopez led 14-10 in the second set before the Cowgirls went on a 14-2 run, accentuated by kills from Garcia, Perez and Katherine Salas, who also pounded home a service ace to give the visitors a 22-16 edge.
But Porter couldn’t maintain its momentum long enough into the third game, letting a 10-5 lead slip away in the most dramatic and back-and-forth of the four games in a close contest. The Lady Lobos seemed to thrive in the atmosphere of heightened intensity that followed with each point.
“Our girls are not really a team that likes to start off strong,” Maraboto said. “We like to fight and come back toward the end. That was really good for us. We usually don’t do that. We choke in the beginning, and then we’re the team that fights back a lot.”
Olga Arozena came through with a block to knot the game at 24, a Sofia Castillo kill produced a 27-26 Lopez lead, and Kayla Aguilar delivered a gut-punch to Porter to close out the longest set of the match and take a 2-1 edge in games.
“Sofia, our right-side hitter, stepped up for us,” Maraboto said. “She kept asking for the ball, she wanted the ball and she was putting it down. She helped us take the lead in the fourth set.”
Venegas said setter Brenda Savariego’s leadership was the key to remaining calm in an emotionally charged contest, and she also provided several crucial assists to help swing the game in Lopez’s favor. Savariego had 34 assists, 10 digs, and three kills for the Lady Lobos.
Cielo Chapa had 12 kills to lead Lopez, and Castillo chipped in seven digs, 10 kills and one assist. Arozena had seven kills and two blocks, and Noelia Ruiz had 18 digs, two aces and two assists.
“All her sets were on point,” Maraboto said. “She’s our leader, she’s our captain and she talked to the girls throughout the whole entire (match). We were able to score because of her and her leadership.”