KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — With district play on the horizon, Harlingen South’s mid-term test was against McAllen Rowe, historically one of the top teams in the Rio Grande Valley.
While Harlingen South has made some noise this season, the Lady Hawks were out to prove they are for real.
They passed the test and handled the adversity like a seasoned group. South won the first two sets in convincing fashion and — after letting a lead slip away in the third set — the Lady Hawks rallied in the fourth to take down the Lady Warriors 25-19, 25-17, 24-26, 27-17 on Tuesday night.
“We knew that this game was going to be tough,” South coach Anissa Lucio said. “Before we get into district play we wanted to be on top of our game, so this win is huge.”
The Lady Hawks certainly made a statement with the win and will have one final non-district matchup against Brownsville St. Joseph before they open district play at Los Fresnos.
“We know that Rowe has picked up some big wins, and we wanted to get this win and take it into district play.” Lucio said.
Down the line, Rowe and South could meet up in the Class 6A area round, and that was the exact approach Lucio took to the match, treating it like a playoff.
“We saw this as a playoff game, and that is how we approached it,” Lucio said. “We are aiming for the playoffs and we know we will see one of these teams in the playoffs, and we want to be strong and take this into the playoffs.”
After the Lady Hawks dominated the first two sets, Rowe trailed 22-14 in the third set and rallied for a dramatic 26-24 win, forcing a fourth set.
The Lady Warriors carried that momentum into the fourth set and took an early 8-3 lead. Harlingen South managed to settle down, regroup and took its first lead of the game at 12-11, and it never looked back.
“In the first two sets we were just playing our game, and our defense kept us in a lot of points and we take pride in that,” Lucio said. “(Rowe) just started swinging in that third set. Our defense was off, our blocking was off … we give them credit that their hitters came alive. We needed that in the third set. We need to know we need to finish, and to get better and learn from the experience.”
The Lady Hawks improved their record to 26-4, surpassing last year’s win total of 20 prior to the start of district.
South’s senior duo of Mikela Mireles and Mya Pearl Aguirre shined against Rowe and made plays all night. Mireles led the offense with a 30-kill, 25-dig performance. Aguirre backed her up with an 18-kill, 25-dig performance.
Fellow senior Evelyn Yanez led the squad in digs with 59. She saw the win as a good one, but with the mentality of getting better and preparing for the next opponent.
“It was a great win for us,” Yanez said. “In tough matches you are going to lose a match here and there. We lost the third set, but it is up to five and we just had to keep playing. We knew this was a big game, and for us six seniors we played for our team and we got the win. I think we all get a little nervous at some point. It is just a matter of playing your game, and you will be fine.”