Bad day, great year
Edinburg High’s Hernandez garners top newcomer award
BY HENRY MILLER
STAFF WRITER
Natalie Hernandez was having a bad day. It started earlier in the day and continued through volleyball practice for Edinburg High.
Then, it got worse.
“Sometimes middles can get lazy and one time Natalie didn’t get to where she needed to be on a block and she got punished,” Edinburg High head coach Deanna Dominguez said. “She never missed an opportunity after that and she got there every single time.”
It was that type of response to improve, combined with skills and performance, that helped Hernandez earn The Monitor’s All-Area Volleyball Newcomer of the Year.
The freshman, once moved from outside hitter to middle blocker, seemed to be a natural in the middle for the Bobcats, who posted with a 9-3 record in District 31-6A. She finished the season with 40 aces, 191 kills, 56 blocks and 68 digs.
“I was having a bad day and it wasn’t getting any better at practice,” Hernandez said. “I wasn’t getting to my spot on time and she had already warned me about blocking. Then she got after me, pulled me to the side and said a few things…
“I learned that no matter the day I was having, I had to give it my all and do my best because the rest of my team was counting on me.”
It was a valuable lesson learned by Hernandez, just a year removed from Barrientes Middle School and making the jump to varsity as a freshman. That climb — skipping the freshman and JV teams — wore on her enough.
“At first it was (stressful),” she said about playing at the top high school level. “I didn’t know any of the girls but they were really welcoming to me and it ended up being OK.”
With a big move like that, Dominguez said it could become easy for one to rest on their laurels. She doesn’t see that happening with Hernandez and said the two discussed that, among other issues.
“There are freshmen heroes who become senior zeroes,” Dominguez said. “We chatted and bout never being satisfied, about staying hungry and wanting to be better. I don’t see that as being an issue with Natalie; we have some big goals set in the future for her and the team.”
Hernandez is a very quiet athlete whose aggressive attacks and wasp-like blocks speak for her. She said that Dominguez would have team and individual goals for each game. To make sure she stayed aggressive, she had special “goals” for Hernandez.
“She would always tell me to be aggressive as I could and to hit someone in the face so I would stay aggressive,” Hernandez said. “I enjoyed that.”
“When it happened she would just look over to me and nod, with a sly smile on her face,” Dominguez said. “She is an aggressive hitter and she has grown in the sense where she can adjust to any type of set. Not all sets are going to come your way perfectly. To be a kill leader, you have to attack as needed.”
Also making the jump to varsity was another Barrientes volleyball player, Ashley Garcia. Hernandez said they quickly became friends and now “spend about every second with each other.”
Hernandez was also named the District 31-6A Newcomer of the Year. Perhaps one of her biggest performances came in a five-set win over Edinburg Economedes where the budding freshman collected a career-high 34 kills. It was the first time through the district schedule and it put the remainder of the district on alert: Natalie Hernandez was going to be a force.
“In volleyball, you have to produce based on your assignment and if you don’t, you get punished for it. It’s not like if you miss a shot in basketball the other team automatically gets two points,” Dominguez said. “So she really stepped it up for us. She was carrying us with attacks and blocks and bore the brunt of it all.
“This honor is huge for her and we are already expecting so much from her. She’s gonna have to bring it even more. With every honor comes more responsibility.”