KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
RIO HONDO—Despite finishing off the third set with some momentum, it wasn’t enough as Zapata swept Rio Hondo 25-19, 25-14, 25-19 on Saturday.
The Lady Hawks improved their district record to 2-0, and Rio Hondo dropped to 0-2 on the year.
“The first set, we got off to a slow start. We were trying to find a rhyme, and tried to find where the hitters were at and what they did,” Lady Bobcats coach Lizzette Esparza said. “I hadn’t seen Zapata before, so they were unfamiliar from what we have seen outside of last year.”
Rio Hondo adjusted during the second set and found its grove, building an 11-3 lead. The Lady Hawks managed to complete the comeback and took advantage of Rio Hondo’s miscues. During the third set, Rio Hondo played as well as it did during the second set.
Alexis Rhyner finished with five kills and eight digs, Julie Delbosque finished with 10 digs and Domo De Jesus collected six digs in the loss.
“We took a while to get going,” Esparza said. “It was the second set that got us going. We found what we needed to do, and we found the holes. The mental errors is what hurt us. Our blockers were having a hard time staying away from the net, and those penalties hurt us.”
Zapata next meets Progreso, and Rio Hondo looks for its first district win when it takes on Raymondville.
STAYING HOT
The slow start to the 2019 season seems like a distant memory for the La Feria Lionettes.
On Saturday, senior Sierra Salinas led the La Feria offense with a 22-kill performance in a 25-17, 25-13, 15-25, 25-13 win over Port Isabel.
Along with the strong offense, Salinas checked in with three digs, one block and one ace. Reanne Fraga led the squad in assists with 22, and finished with six kills and four digs. Jeno Ochoa had eight kills, two assists and one dig, and Alani Garza had one ace, four kills and three assists.
With the win, La Feria improves to 2-0 in district play after winning its district opener against Progreso earlier this week.
“I felt we started off real strong in the first and second set,” La Feria coach Rebea Fraga said. “In the third set, Port Isabel was just more consistent than we were, but we were able to pull it out in the fourth set.
La Feria is tied with Zapata for first place, as both teams have started 2-0. The Lionettes play host Hidalgo on Tuesday. Zapata and La Feria meet one week from now in what is shaping up to be a battle for first place in the district.
Fraga’s Lionettes have been on the upswing the past few weeks, and they are starting to figure things out on the court.
“Today was another full team effort,” Fraga said. “Everyone pulled together, and we were able to walk out with a win. I think the kids are becoming more comfortable with each other.”