By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The end of the first round of District 32-6A volleyball arrives today with some key matches on the schedule.
Los Fresnos (4-0) has assumed the 32-6A lead, while Brownsville Rivera (3-1) holds down second place. Harlingen High (2-2) and Harlingen South (2-2) share third place followed by Brownsville Hanna (1-3) and San Benito (0-4).
Tonight’s 6:30 matches to end the first round of district find Harlingen High at Rivera, Hanna at Harlingen South and San Benito at Los Fresnos.
At this point so close to the halfway mark of district, Los Fresnos, Rivera and South appear to be the strongest teams. Although South has had to bounce back from losses to Los Fresnos and Rivera, the Lady Hawks appear ready to make a strong showing during the second round if they can weather the challenge presented tonight by Hanna, a team battling injuries and inexperience, just like San Benito.
“I told the girls the (25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 25-22) loss to Rivera (on Sept. 28) was a blessing in disguise, and we needed that to stay focused and grounded,” Lady Hawks coach Anissa Lucio said after last week’s decisive 25-17, 25-14, 25-17 “Bird Bowl” victory at Harlingen High. “We wanted to bounce back quick (after losing to Rivera,) and we did that, and I’m proud of my girls for doing that.”
The Lady Hawks have an experienced, senior-laden squad led by Mikela Mireles and Mya Pearl Aguirre.
Los Fresnos had 10 proven seniors one year ago when the Lady Falcons captured the 32-6A title.
This time, there are six seniors for Los Fresnos, who for the most part, played in the shadow of those seniors from last season. But they’re now making their presence known.
“I am very proud that right now we are 4-0,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “Who would’ve thought we would be in this position with the tough district that we have. I feel like we are so closely matched in every game we play, no matter what team it is. It’s whoever is ‘on’ at that time, is the team that will win.”
Woods is proud of the job being done by her seniors this season.
“They feed off each other and are very competitive,” she said. “All of them work hard for a starting position. They are resilient and never give up. We have come back in many games after being down by as much as 12 points and won.
“It’s just a great group of kids who jell together at the last minute to make a very good volleyball team,” Wood added. “I knew we would have the hitters this year, but I was really worried about our defense, so we have concentrated on our passing game daily in practice. They have gotten very good at it, and they know what it takes to win matches.”
Perhaps the most interesting 32-6A match today finds Harlingen High at Rivera.
The Lady Raiders, a team that appears to have just the right balance of experience and youth, wants to stay right behind Los Fresnos in the standings. Meanwhile, the Lady Cardinals want to rebound from their loss to South and go into the second half with a 3-2 record.
32-5A UPDATE
Going into today’s second round of play in District 32-5A, Edcouch-Elsa is the leader at 7-0 and Brownsville Veterans Memorial is second at 6-1.
Donna High, Brownsville Pace and Mercedes share third place with 4-3 records. Brownsville Porter comes next at 2-5 and is followed by Brownsville Lopez at 1-6 and Valley View at 0-7.
The beginning of the second round of play at 7 p.m. today in 32-5A has Brownsville Veterans at Pace, E-E at Lopez, Porter at Donna High and Mercedes vs. Valley View.
RANKINGS WATCH
Only three Rio Grande Valley volleyball teams are state-ranked this week by the Texas Girls Coaching Association.
In Class 6A, McAllen High (35-2) is now No. 12 after being ranked 10th last week.
Two Valley teams are listed in the Class 5A rankings. They are No. 6 Mission Veterans Memorial (33-5) and No. 13 Edcouch-Elsa (25-7).
Los Fresnos (6A), Brownsville Veterans (5A) and San Isidro (2A-1A) have been in and out of the rankings for much of the season.
EAST VALLEY TOP 5
1. Los Fresnos
2. Brownsville Rivera
3. Harlingen South
4. Brownsville Veterans
5. Harlingen High
Kevin Narro contributed to this report