ROMA — Edinburg North’s volleyball season ended in the area round Saturday at Roma High School.
District 30-6A champion Laredo United claimed a 25-17, 25-14, 25-9 victory over 31-6A’s second-place Cougars.
“We are very thankful for all the support,” Edinburg North head coach Raul McCallum said. “All of the parents, all the people that came to watch. It is just one of those things.”
Laredo United would have been hard to beat regardless of opponent and hardly played a bad ball. The Longhorns flexed their depth at times and did not need to rely on their best hitter, Mia Molina, and her 525 kills on the season.
Edinburg North had a shot to nab a set in third. The Cougars were down 22-17, but the Longhorns closed out the match with Molina.
McCallum appreciated the fight the Cougars showed in the third set, he said.
Edinburg North finished the season 25-12 and 7-3 in district. Junior Etsel Ramirez had 491 kills entering the match and will be a key player returning for the Cougars.
“It is a going to be a learning tool,” McCallum said. “(Edinburg North) can see how (Laredo United) covered everything, took swings and did all the right things. (Laredo United) never panicked and we kind of lost our composure for a bit.”
Ramirez had a strong kill early in the second set to bring the Cougars to within two points. The Longhorns began to pull away in the set, going up by double digits to win the set 25-14.
It was all Laredo United in the first set. The Longhorns jumped on the Cougars 8-2. Laredo United’s hitters were all accurate, forcing Edinburg North to be off-balanced.
When Edinburg North generated offense, Laredo United’s libero Krizia Perez was usually there for the dig. Perez’s digs were normally placed nicely for Erika Peimbert, the Longhorns’ setter, regardless of how hard the Cougars hit.
“The season was good, we started off slow, but they came together,” McCallum said. “The last three matches we played, you can see the turnaround … Today we just went up against a really good opponent. They are loaded, everywhere, every swing, they did everything right.”
The Laredo United Longhorns will face San Antonio O’Connor in the third round of playoffs for their next match.