By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Just like past seasons, there are some pretty strong hitters in Cameron County high school volleyball this year.
Almost every team has at least one player with the ability to leap and make a powerful hit for a kill if given a good set.
Among those strong hitters in the area who stand out so far this season are Harlingen South’s Mikela Mireles, Los Fresnos’ Jasmin Garcia, Brownsville Rivera’s Kenya Ibarra, Brownsville Hanna’s Odalys Gonzalez and Brownsville St. Joseph’s Ally Stachowiak.
While there are others, these five have been consistently producing points with their play at the net. Still, a player such as Mireles, the 2018 co-offensive player of the year in District 32-6A, is a strong hitter from all over the court. Gonzalez was The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro MVP last season.
Power hitters were on display Saturday on the opening day of 32-6A competition.
Garcia had 32 kills and three blocks for Los Fresnos, and Mireles had 22 kills and 29 digs for Harlingen South during the Lady Falcons’ 28-26, 25-17, 17-25, 27-25 district-opening victory against the Lady Hawks.
Mya Pearl Aguirre, an all-around player for South who can hit with power, contributed 19 kills, 19 assists and 24 digs.
Garcia said all she wanted to do was help her team win against the highly regarded Lady Hawks. She kept receiving good sets, which helped the Lady Falcons’ cause.
“My role was I just wanted to hit so badly,” Garcia said. “I just wanted to help us win.
“We’re a happy team (with a win like this),” Garcia added. “We all talked (to each other during the match) and did amazing. It was one of our best matches. I believe it motivates us to win every other (32-6A) match.”
The Lady Falcons and Lady Hawks meet again Oct. 12 at South.
Rivera and Harlingen High also won their 32-6A openers Saturday. Rivera defeated Hanna 25-20, 25-29, 25-16. Harlingen High downed San Benito 3-0.
District action continues at 7 p.m. today with Los Fresnos at Rivera, Hanna at Harlingen High and South at San Benito.
QUITE A COMEBACK
The Brownsville Pace Lady Vikings rallied to prevail against the Brownsville Lopez Lady Lobos 23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-13 during a District 32-5A match Saturday.
“I think my team did not give up and fought for every point,” Lady Vikings coach Pamela McCumber said. “After one of my main middles went down with an ankle injury, the team was forced to communicate (more).
“Jill Perez, my libero, had more than 40 digs, and my middle, Lilia Guevara, had 12 kills,” McCumber added.
Saturday’s 32-5A action left Edcouch-Elsa and Brownsville Veterans Memorial as the district co-leaders at 3-0. Mercedes is 2-1, and Lopez, Pace, Brownsville Porter and Donna High are 1-2. Valley View is 0-3.
District action in 32-5A continues at 7 p.m. today with Pace at Donna High, E-E at Mercedes, Brownsville Veterans at Valley View and Lopez at Porter.
RANKINGS WATCH
Several Rio Grande Valley volleyball teams continue to be state-ranked this week by the Texas Girls Coaching Association.
In Class 6A, McAllen High has moved up to No. 3 in the state, while Los Fresnos is back in the 6A rankings at No. 25 and is tied at the No. 25 spot with two other 6A teams from Texas.
Two Valley teams are listed in the Class 5A rankings. They are No. 9 Mission Veterans Memorial and No. 16 Edcouch-Elsa.
The only other Valley team listed in the rankings this week is San Isidro, which is No. 21 in the Class 1A-2A poll.
EAST VALLEY TOP 5 RANKINGS
1. Los Fresnos
2. Harlingen South
3. Brownsville Veterans Memorial
4. Brownsville Rivera
5. Brownsville Hanna