By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — The pecking order in District 32-6A volleyball has been established, at least at the top.
District leader Los Fresnos (7-0) won at home against 32-6A second-place Rivera 25-14, 25-23, 22-25, 25-14 on Tuesday to give itself a little cushion in the standings.
The Lady Falcons now have beaten Rivera (5-2) and Harlingen South (4-3), considered their two biggest challengers in 32-6A twice apiece. Three matches remain on the 32-6A schedule.
“This was one of the hardest matches I’ve ever had to coach,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “I knew when I watched Rivera warm up that we had a great match coming at us. You know what? We need that kind of match to get ready for the playoffs. We’re going to have four or five big girls coming at us (in the playoffs) instead of just one or two (like Rivera has).”
Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said she was proud of the way her team played and added it just didn’t do enough to win Tuesday.
“It was a very hard-fought match, and it was a very good match,” the Rivera coach said. “Both teams played well. Los Fresnos chased everything and kept the ball alive. That helped them a lot. They’ve got a great offense with some great hitters, and they moved the ball around well. They were calm, and they played together.
“Our girls did the same thing, but we came up short,” she added. “Every once in a while our girls let the ball drop because they were looking at each other, and that cost us. Our girls played well. They just got into little ruts here and there.”
Winning the first two games was a big boost for the Lady Falcons.
During the third game, Rivera was ahead by scores of 8-2, 11-4 and 17-10 before Los Fresnos came back and pulled within two points at 21-19, 22-20, 23-21 and 24-22. The Lady Raiders wound up winning the third game 25-22.
After six ties during the fourth set — the last at 6 — the Lady Falcons went ahead for good at 7-6 and didn’t look back. They won the fourth game 25-14 due to a net violation by the Lady Raiders on the final point.
Stat leaders for the Lady Falcons included Jasmin Garcia (10 kills, two aces), Tate Halford (eight kills), Gio Godoy (14 total blocks), Cadence Castillo (19 digs), Ari Gallardo (17 digs), Victoria Hernandez (one ace) and Clarissa Esquibel (22 assists).
For Rivera, the stat leaders were Laisha Izaguirre (16 kills, four digs), Kenya Ibarra (13 kills, nine digs, one ace), Christina Garza (13 kills, four digs), Richelle Guerra (20 digs, one ace) and Alondra Guzman (20 digs, three kills).
District action continues at noon Saturday. Rivera is at home against Harlingen South. Los Fresnos is at Harlingen High.