KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN —When the season is all said and done, Tuesday night’s Bird Bowl will be remembered as the flu game.
Harlingen South senior Mya Aguirre took the court with the flu and shook off the illness, helping to spark Harlingen South to a 25-17, 25-14, 25-17 sweep over Harlingen High.
Aguirre, who was hit with the flu Monday night, woke up Tuesday and wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to play or not. Aguirre’s performance was one to remember, as she collected 13 kills, nine assists and 15 digs in the win.
“What really got me through tonight was my mom,” Aguirre said. “She loaded me up with medicine, but also my team and my coaches. They have all been so kind and helpful this whole time I have been sick, and this just happened all of a sudden. I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to be able to play, I really wasn’t feeling it this morning, but I knew I wanted to play regardless and especially because it’s Bird Bowl.”
Aguirre, along with senior Mikela Mireles, displayed their veteran leadership in front of a packed house at Harlingen High. Tuesday’s case was fairly simple for the Lady Hawks: They have played in big games before, and their seniors proved that Tuesday night.
“Our senior leadership is huge,” South coach Anissa Lucio said. “We feel that is our biggest plus, is our experience, and we knew we just needed to bounce back and we did that. I told the girls to just focus on us. Yes, everything going on around us is great, but we needed to focus on ourselves and control ourselves.”
The Lady Hawks flexed their muscles during the second set, jumping out to a 12-3 lead and controlling the tempo for the rest of the night. They received another strong performance from Mireles, who finished with a team-high 16 kills and 15 digs. Mia Zamorano led the team with 39 digs, and Zoe Garcia finished with 27 digs.
The win puts South back into the playoff mix and district title picture with a 2-2 record. It will meet Brownsville Hanna next Tuesday.
“I told the girls the loss to Rivera was a blessing in disguise, and we needed that to stay focused and grounded,” Lucio said. “We wanted to bounce back quick and we did that, and I’m proud of my girls for doing that.”
Harlingen High, which entered Tuesday with some momentum, took a step back and is now 2-2 in district. The Lady Cards just didn’t have an answer for Harlingen South but are still in good shape when it comes to the playoff race.
Against South, the youth and inexperience was evident, but it is something the Lady Cardinals can build on moving forward.
“I think that played a factor in the way they played,” Harlingen High coach Joslynn Torres said. “It’s not because they haven’t been a part of big games, its more of they have never had a crowd as big as we had here tonight. This is our home court and we made a lot of hype about it, which was OK.”
Harlingen High will look to rebound next Tuesday when it takes on Brownsville Rivera.
For the Lady Cards, Alexandria Ramirez led the offense with 10 kills and three blocks. Callie Cervantes led the team in digs with 28 and collected four kills. Emily Wyche finished with 17 digs, and Destiny Martinez collected 18 assists.
“In the second, it really wasn’t adjustments that they made, it was really just a tough loss,” Torres said. “I haven’t seen them play like this in a while. The girls were clicking right when it needed to happen, and unfortunately the game ended the way it did or we played the way we played, and all we can do is learn from it and get ready for them next time, and now it’s us preparing for Rivera.”