DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — It wasn’t always pretty, but a win is a win and the Harlingen Lady Cardinals will take it. Especially when it comes against the crosstown rival Harlingen South Lady Hawks.

On Tuesday, the Lady Red Birds began the second half of District 32-6A play the same way they started it: With a spirited 3-0 victory over South.

With the win, the Lady Cardinals improved to 5-3 in conference play and cemented themselves as legitimate playoff contenders.

“We just went back to basics and reevaluated our purpose,” said Lady Cards head coach Jennifer Martinez after the match. “We’ve been doing a lot of mental training because what we were doing wasn’t working at first, but we’re coming along one game at a time.”

Led by a brutal offensive attack that simply overpowered the inexperienced Lady Green Birds, the Lady Cards easily took the first set of the match 25-14.

Strikers Taegan Dickey, Yazmine Martinez and Brianna Ramos took control early and didn’t let up as the Lady Cards cruised to a 1-0 match lead.

In the second set, the Lady Cards continued to attack and thoroughly outplayed South early on as they took a 10-3 lead.

However, the Lady Hawks showed tremendous resolve despite inconsistent play as they eventually fought their way back to tie the match at 19-19 and then took a 20-19 advantage after a serve by Trisha Lopez fell just in-bounds for the point.

However, with the visiting Lady Hawks supporters going absolutely wild, the Lady Cards calmed down and tied things up again at 20-20.

From there, the remainder of the set was a complete war of wills as the lead changed hands three times before the Lady Cards finally held on to score the final three points and take it 25-23.

But with the Lady Cards holding a commanding 2-0 lead in the match, it was the Lady Hawks who came out in Game 3 with more energy and focus.

Behind some strong hitting by Allyson Benavides and Cameron Del Angel, the Lady Hawks took a 16-11 lead and looked ready to force a fourth set.

But suddenly, it was as if the Lady Cards flipped a switch and the rally began. Behind some powerful hitting by Martinez, the Lady Cards scored five straight points to knot things up at 16-all and then began to pull away.

The Lady Hawks, to their credit, tried to fend off the Lady Cards’ attack. However, it wasn’t enough as Dickey was a force down the stretch and the Lady Cards took the set 25-21 to complete the sweep.

DOWN SOUTH: Despite a whole lot of heart, passion and effort, the Lady Hawks remain winless in district as Tuesday’s loss dropped them to 0-8.

The Lady Hawks are a very youthful team. And while that didn’t seem to matter early in the season during non-district play, it has now in league action.

UP NEXT: The Lady Cardinals end a three-game home stand against Brownsville Rivera at noon on Saturday. The Lady Raiders took the match in the teams’ first meeting in Brownsville on Sept. 13.

The Lady Hawks, meanwhile, conclude a three-game road trip on Saturday at noon against league-leading Los Fresnos.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — It was literally the tale of two halves for the Harlingen South Hawks against the Los Fresnos Falcons on Friday at Boggus Stadium.

After a first half marred by drive-stopping penalties, costly miscues and downright messy play, the Hawks erased a 14-0 halftime deficit by scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half to win the contest 21-14.

With the victory, the Hawks improved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in District 32-6A play.

“The defense was playing good in the first half so I told the defense to keep playing like they were and the offense just had to wake up,” said a happy looking Hawks head coach Brian Ricci after the game.

“In the first half we didn’t get lined up right, had penalties and were just sloppy. I told them to relax and clean things up and they’ll be all right. They did and we were.”

As for the Falcons, the loss marked their third in a row as they are now 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league play.

However, early on it appeared as if the visiting Falcons were going to walk away victorious as they rushed out to a quick 14-0 lead, much to the delight of their numerous fans in attendance.

After a six-play opening drive that went nowhere, the Falcons punted and got the ball back at the South 1-yard line after the Hawks mishandled the ball. Sebastian Gonzalez quickly punched the ball into the end zone and the Falcons were up 7-0 with 8:36 left in the first quarter.

After the Hawks failed to do much on their opening drive, the Falcons got the ball back and scored again. Running back John Salazar scored on a nifty 68-yard run to put the Falcons in command 14-0.

The score remained a two-touchdown game heading into the half as both teams’ offenses stalled in the second quarter. The Falcons failed twice to extend their lead as they missed on two field-goal attempts in the second quarter.

Those missed opportunities were huge because in the second half the Hawks came out a completely different team.

The Hawks received the ball to start the third quarter and immediately drove the ball 67-yards, ending the 12-play drive on an 11-yard TD run by Adrian Torres. After the Sean Muniz extra point, the Hawks trailed just 14-7 with 6:30 left in the third quarter.

The Hawks’ reborn offense helped fuel the defense as the unit forced a three-and-out on the Falcons ensuing drive.

With 4:41 left in the third, the Hawks once again hit the ground running and six-plays later knotted the contest up at 14-14 after a 40-yard TD run by Matthew Zavala.

After the Hawks’ defense forced another three-and-out, the offense then came out and went on a masterful time-consuming, 17-play drive that finally ended when quarterback Brandon Villarreal scored on a 7-yard keeper to put South up 21-14 with just 5:25 left in the game.

The Falcons nearly tied the game up late, but a 41-yard TD run by quarterback Charles Chapa was called back on a holding penalty and then the Falcons turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on fourth-and-three.

Despite a complete lack of offense in the second half, the Falcons still had a chance to at least tie the game with less than two minutes remaining. However on a key fourth-and-seven, South’s Jose Vasquez sacked Falcons QB Chapa to end their drive and seal the Hawks’ win.

“I’m so pound of these guys for sticking in there and not dropping their heads,” Coach Ricci said. “Anytime you can win a district game it gets you closer to your goal of making the playoffs so this was huge tonight. But next week’s game is just as big as this game and that’s the way it’s going to be all season.”

The Hawks are at Brownsville Hanna next Friday while Los Fresnos is at Weslaco East.

NOTE: Falcons star QB Mark Mata did not play for unspecified reasons on Friday.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — For both Weslaco East and Harlingen South, the District 32-6A season has not gone well thus far.

Both squads entered their match on Tuesday at the Lady Hawks gym 0-5 in league play and both were desperate to snap the losing skid.

When the dust finally settled, it was the Lady Panthers who walked away with hard-fought 25-23, 25-23, 25-14 victory to improve to 1-5 in conference action.

Afterward, head coach Corina Nava couldn’t hold back tears of joy.

“We came in here knowing that we’ve been struggling with our confidence level,” she said. “We had a good pre-district season but come district we fell short and started losing confidence in each other.

“But we had a team meeting yesterday and we revisited our goals, and we finally came together today as a team to get this much-needed win.”

The Lady Panthers did not look like a team that was struggling as they showed spirit and enthusiasm all evening long.

As for the Lady Hawks, who are now 0-6 in league play, they played well and showed plenty of heart, but they also looked tense and it showed in the way they played.

Nevertheless, South fought hard from the start and nearly took Game 1. However, with the set tied at 13-13, East pushed forward and eventually took the game 25-23.

Despite the momentum being on East’s side, the Lady Hawks came out strong in Game 2 and, after a bit of back-and-forth action, took a commanding 15-8 advantage and looked primed to tie the match at 1-1.

However, the Lady Panthers showed tremendous resilience and tied things up at 15-15.

From there, both teams battled with everything they had as the Lady Hawks looked to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole while the Lady Panthers looked to bolster their lead.

With the set tied at 22-22, a big block by South’s Annelle Rodriguez put the Lady Hawks up 23-22 and just two points away from winning the set.

Unfortunately, 23 points was all South could muster as East scored the next three points to take the game and go up 2-0 in the match.

With all the momentum fully on the Lady Panthers’ side, the Lady Hawks came out flat in Game 3 and simply couldn’t match East’s energy as the Lady Panthers took a huge 13-2 lead.

To their credit, the Lady Hawks refused to go down without a fight and managed to get within nine points at 22-13, forcing Nava to call a timeout.

However, the deficit was too much for South to overcome as East got the three points it needed to take the game and match.

“We’ve got a big senior group and I think we finally decided tonight that enough is enough,” said Nava. “Tonight was a confidence builder and now we just have to feed off of this win and move forward.”

The Lady Panthers conclude the first half of district play on Saturday at Brownsville Hanna. Meanwhile, the Lady Hawks are at Brownsville Rivera, also on Saturday.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — For some reason, the San Benito Lady Greyhounds don’t seem to perform well in third sets of their matches.

On Tuesday against Harlingen South, the Lady ’Hounds had a chance to sweep the Lady Hawks but fell apart in Game 3.

Fortunately, they were able to right the ship in the fourth set and walked away with a win. However, the team’s inability to close things out left San Benito head coach Ruby Medina somewhat irritated.

On Saturday against Brownsville Hanna, it was like déjà vu as the Lady ’Hounds took a commanding 2-0 advantage but couldn’t close things out in Game 3.

However, as they did against South, the Lady ’Hounds got their act together in Game 4 and got an important win over Hanna, 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 25-15.

With the victory, San Benito improved to 3-2 in District 32-6A. Meanwhile, the loss was the Lady Golden Eagles’ second in a row as they fell to 3-2.

As she was on Tuesday, Coach Media was pleased to get the win but not happy with the way her team was unable to close out Hanna in three sets.

“Service errors hurt us this time around,” Medina said. “I told them that we can’t win if we don’t have the serves. It shouldn’t be that difficult but they, of course, put too much pressure on themselves and over think things and then miss the serve.

“It’s something that we work on in practice, but come game time it’s just… We just can’t keep doing that to ourselves because every time we miss a serve, it gives our opponents a point.”

Despite their Game 3 breakdown, the Lady ’Hounds dominated the contest as they came out of the gate firing behind strong hitting and solid defense.

Alysa Naranjo led the way with 21 kills while Crystal Ibarra was close behind with 15. Helping to set up the strikers was Ariel Garcia, who had 23 assists, and libero Larisa Garcia did a tremendous job of neutralizing Hanna’s big hitters as she had 35 digs.

The Lady ’Hounds came out strong early in Game 3 as well, but the Lady Golden Eagles fought back behind big hits shots by Halle Penrod, Tabitha Fernandez and Laure Webb.

Hanna also took advantage of San Benito’s numerous serving errors and hung on to win the set 25-22.

However, the Lady ’Hounds got their service miscues under control in the fourth set – committing only two errors – and the difference was huge as they took control early and simply wore Hanna down.

“This was a big win for us,” Medina said. “But like I told the girls, they are very capable of winning a lot of games if they put their minds to it. I’m not taking anything away from Hanna, they are a great team. However, we just played batter today.”

Up next for the Lady ’Hounds is an away game at Weslaco High on Tuesday.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Bird Bowl XXIV lived up to the hype on Friday.

The jam-packed Boggus Stadium crowd, which was evenly split down the middle between Cardinal Red and Hawk Green, witnessed quite the dozy.

The contest featured everything a football fan could want: Hard hits, back-and-forth action and down-to-the-wire drama.

However, when it was all said and done, the Bird Bowl Champions Trophy remained right where it has been for the past eight years: With the Harlingen Cardinals.

Despite an exceptional effort by the Hawks, who were looking to win their first game against the Cards since 2007, the Red Birds used a strong second half to eventually pull away and hold on for a thrilling 23-16 win.

The Cards’ victory snapped a two-game losing skid to put them at 2-2 overall and, more importantly, at 1-0 in District 32-6A play.

Meanwhile, the loss was the Hawks’ first of the season as they fell to 3-1 and 0-1 in conference play.

Afterward, Cardinals head coach Manny Gomez was pleased with his team’s effort but was determined to fix some of the problems that plagued his squad, including costly penalties.

“We really responded in the second half, but we put ourselves in holes with selfish acts and that’s something that is going to get fixed,” Gomez said. Penalties killed a lot of our drives and some of them were personal fouls, and that’s just selfishness.

“But other than that, this was a great night for football and this was one of those games that I wish I was in the stands to watch.”

The Cards opened the contest by jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter after a 40-yard TD run by star running back Leo Tienda and a 34-yard field goal by Giovanni Guillen. Tienda finished the night with 52 yards on 19 carries.

But the Hawks fought back, cutting the lead to 9-7 after a nice 24-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Villarreal to Samuel De La Rosa.

The Hawks’ defense then stepped up with three interceptions that kept the Cards’ offense in check for the rest of the first half.

Meanwhile, South’s offense continued to roll as Gilbert Montemayor scored on a 6-yard run with 49.6 seconds to go in the first half to put the Hawks up 13-9.

However, the Cards tacked on another field goal with no time left on the clock to cut the lead down to 13-12 heading into the half.

The Cards received the ball to open the second half and quickly took back the lead after Nathan Ramirez took a pass from quarterback Jesse Castro 47 yards into the end zone. After a successful two-point conversion, the Cards were up 20-13.

From there, Harlingen’s defense went to work shutting the Hawks down as a 22-yard field goal from Sean Muniz was all the Hawks could muster in the second half.

Still, the game remained close until another field goal by Guillen with 1:19 left in the game pretty much iced things as the Cards went up 23-16.

The Hawks did try to make it interesting as they got a couple of first downs on their ensuing drive to pump up the crowd. However, it was too little too late.

Stats provided by Matthew Cavazos, KHGN statistician, 10th grade Harlingen South

By DAVE FAVILA

Staff Writer

HARLINGEN – When it comes to football rivalries, the Bird Bowl, which pits Harlingen High and Harlingen South, may not be one of the oldest, but it may be one of the fiercest.

Not only is this year’s contest the Valley Morning Star’s Game of the Week, it’s also Fox Sports Southwest’s DQ Big Game of the Week and will be highlighted on their Friday night show.

When the Cardinals and Hawks face off, record books can be thrown out of the window as each program looks to reign supreme over the other and have bragging rights as the city’s top team for that year.

However, for all its grandeur, the Bird Bowl rivalry has been extremely one-sided toward the Cardinals. In the 23 times the game has been played prior to this year, the Hawks have only won four times (1998, 1999, 2006 and 2007) and only a handful of contests have been truly competitive.

The very first Bird Bowl, which was played in 1993, was one of the most intense as the Cards held on for a thrilling 13-12 victory. Bird Bowl II was also a tight affair with Harlingen walking away with a 25-22 win.

And while not every Bird Bowl has been a complete blowout, there has been several times when the Hawks were simply overwhelmed, including 2010 when the Cards won 75-21 and the following year when the Red Birds took it 69-7. Even last year’s matchup was not much of a contest as the Cards shut out South 20-0 for the program’s eighth straight win.

But as Bird Bowl XXIV approaches kick off tonight, Hawks fans have reason to believe this may be their year as first-year head coach Brian Ricci has South playing quite well as of late. The Green Birds enter the game a perfect 3-0 after non-district wins over McAllen High, PSJA High and Edinburg North.

Thanks to a solid, well-balanced running attack that has already amassed 899 yards this season, the Hawks have the third best offense in District 32-6A behind San Benito and Los Fresnos. Meanwhile, quarterback Brandon Villarreal has been a picture of consistency as he has rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns so far and passed for 193 yards with no interceptions while completing 75 percent of his passes.

Even more encouraging for the Hawks, however, is their potent defense, which is giving up just 239 yards per game and is ranked tops in District 32-6A.

But despite the high expectations, Coach Ricci said his team is taking it all in stride.

“We’re not feeling any added pressure,” he said. “We know the community is excited and there will be a big crowd, but we as a team are staying focused on playing Hawk football.”

As for the Cardinals, they enter today’s tilt at 1-2 after back-to-back losses to Laredo United South and San Antonio Reagan. So far their best offensive weapon has been quarterback Jesse Castro, who has passed for 478 yards and two TDs.

Surprisingly, the Cards’ running game, which was supposed to be bolstered this season by senior RB Leo Tienda, has been extremely quiet. Through three games, the Cards have totaled just 328 yards on the ground after Tienda went down with an injury in Week 1. He did return in Week 3 against Reagan, but was held to just 69 yards on 22 carries with no scores in a 41-7 loss.

Meanwhile, the Cards defense, which is usually a strongpoint for the program, is giving up nearly 350 yards per game and is ranked in last place in District 32-6A.

Still, what happened prior to today’s contest is essentially meaningless since it was all non-conference play and inconsequential to making the playoffs. From here on out, however, it’s a whole new season and Bird Bowl XXIV is where it all starts for Harlingen and Harlingen South.

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DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — As San Benito head volleyball coach Ruby Medina strolled off the court after the Lady Greyhounds’ match at Harlingen South on Tuesday night, she did not look happy.

By looking at her, one would never have believed that her team had just won a hard-fought match and, as a result, improved to 2-2 in District 32-6A play.

“A win is a win and we’ll take it, but I really believe that we could have played a whole lot better,” she said after her squad’s 25-20, 25-17, 19-15, 25-17 victory over the Lady Hawks, who fell to 0-4 in conference action.

“We let them back in the game and to me that’s nerve-wracking.”

Leading the match 2-0, the Lady ’Hounds appeared loose and ready to sweep the Lady Hawks as Game 3 got underway.

The Lady Hawks had different plans, however, as they came out inspired and fought every step of the way.

With the set tied at 16, the Lady Hawks slowly began to pull away behind some strong hitting by Allyson Benavides and finally iced the game at 25-19 after a nice tip in by Sienna Sierra.

The Game 3 win electrified the hometown crowd and energized the Lady Hawks, who had not won a set in their three previous district matches.

Unfortunately, the momentum didn’t immediately carry over into the fourth set as the Lady Greyhounds regained their composure and raced out to a 23-11 advantage before South, once again, tried to make a comeback and force a Game 5.

Behind some more hard- hitting shots by Benavides, the Lady Hawks scored six straight points to cut the lead to 23-17. However, it wasn’t enough as the Lady ’Hounds eventually found the two points they needed to close out the contest and send their fans home with smiles on their faces.

San Benito was led by Crystal Ibarra, who finished the match with 14 kills, Alysa Naranjo, who had 12 kills, and Larisa Garcia, who had 46 digs.

Up next for the Lady ’Hounds is a home game Saturday against Brownsville Hanna, who dropped to 3-1 after a loss to Los Fresnos on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Lady Hawks are at Weslaco High.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — There were times on Saturday when the Harlingen Lady Cardinals were playing against two opponents: Weslaco High and themselves.

The Lady Panthers were tough enough but, at least for a while, the Lady Cards were their own worst enemies.

Fortunately, the Lady Red Birds managed to fight off both adversaries to win 25-23, 15-25, 25-22, 25-21 and improve to 2-1 in District 32-6A play.

While the Lady Panthers did indeed play well and could have won the match on their own merits, it was the Lady Cards’ bipolar play that allowed Weslaco to hang around all match long.

Case in point: After blazing out to a 12-0 advantage in the first set, the Lady Cardinals suddenly broke down and allowed the Lady Panthers to come roaring back before finally regaining their composure somewhat to narrowly win the game 25-23.

The Lady Cards’ manic play continued into Game 2 and Weslaco took full advantage to win the set 25-15 and even the match at 1-1.

With momentum on their side, the Lady Panthers came out in the third set and took a quick 6-3 lead thanks to some nice hitting by Maddie Ybarra and Jacqee Moreno.

However, as well as the Lady Panthers played, they were aided a lot by the Lady Cardinals’ numerous serving errors and misshits.

But as suddenly as the Lady Red Birds went ice cold, they just as abruptly snapped out of it and began to come back, eventually tying the third set at 11-11.

From that point, both teams battled tooth and nail until the Lady Cards finally won the battle of attrition to take a 2-1 match advantage.

“I don’t know what happens to us,” said a relieved-looking Harlingen head coach Jennifer Martinez after the match.

“We just do that. We fall flat, can’t pick ourselves up and then lose matches. But at least this time we found ourselves and finished. I don’t know who that other team is that comes out, but we’re working on it and I’m glad they figured it out because we needed this win after losing to (Brownsville) Rivera on Tuesday.”

With impetus back on their side, the Lady Cardinals came out in the fourth set and took a 10-6 edge behind some solid hitting and blocking by Yazmine Martinez, Desiree Sanchez and Brianna Ramos.

The Lady Panthers did all they could to hang on and got within two points at 19-17, but the Lady Cards would not be denied in front of their small, yet boisterous home crowd.

Up next for the Lady Cardinals is a match at Weslaco East on Tuesday followed by a home match against three-time defending league champ Los Fresnos next Saturday.

As for Weslaco, the Lady Panthers are at Brownsville Rivera on Tuesday.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — After a tough loss to crosstown rival Harlingen High on Saturday, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks volleyball squad was looking to avoid falling into an 0-2 District 32-6A hole on Tuesday.

However, the visiting Los Fresnos Lady Falcons, who have ruled the league as champions for the past several years, were determined to up their conference mark to 2-0.

That didn’t bode well for the Lady Hawks as Los Fresnos, led by senior striker Jackie Kingsbury’s 16 kills and 31 digs, were simply too much and walked away with a 25-16, 25-18, 25-23 victory.

But the win didn’t come easy as South fought every step of the way, which was something that didn’t go unnoticed by Lady Hawks head coach Jennifer Taliancich.

“They didn’t quit and that’s a good thing because sometimes they tend to be a little mentally weak and that’s something we’re working on the most on, and I’m glad to see that they are improving, and early in district, too,” she said.

After a quick first set that the Lady Falcons dominated 25-16, games 2 and 3 had a little bit of everything including hard hits, long rallies and plenty of action.

In the second set, the Lady Hawks found their rhythm and raced out to a 15-12 advantage. However, Kingsbury was a force to be reckoned with and behind her thundering shots that practically left dents in the hardwood, the Lady Falcons tied things up at 16 and never looked back.

With momentum on their side, the Lady Falcons came out in Game 3 and took a 10-5 lead. But South showed a tremendous resiliency that was typified by Cameron Del Angel, who blocked a roaring shot by Kingsbury for a point.

The resounding blow sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy and also seemed to ignite the Lady Hawks as they clawed their way back into the game and eventually tied things up at 20-20 and then took a slim 22-21 lead.

However, it just wasn’t enough as the Lady Falcons regained their composure and with the set tied at 23-all, hammered the next two points home for the game and match.

Afterward, Los Fresnos head coach Becky Woods appeared exhausted as she sat down to discuss her team’s victory.

“We’re a very young team, so to come in here and get this win means a lot,” she said. “It was pretty nerve wracking there in the third game. We should have done a few things differently and in the end we made the right adjustments, but we nearly missed the opportunity to close things out in three (games).

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Things were doubly sweet for the Harlingen Lady Cardinals volleyball team on Saturday.

Not only did they open the District 32-6A season with a straight-set win, they did so over crosstown rival Harlingen South, 25-19, 26-24 and 25-18.

“This was big,” said a smiling Lady Cards head coach Jennifer Martinez as she accepted congratulatory hugs after the match.

“We’ve been kind of in a little slump here so this just gives us a little bit of confidence as we get district play started.”

Although the match ended in a sweep, it couldn’t have been more thrilling as the Lady Hawks did everything in their power to fend off the visiting Lady Red Birds.

After the teams begin with a little back-and-forth sparring to start Game 1, the Lady Hawks found a nice offensive rhythm and took a 13-9 advantage.

However, the Lady Cards battled back behind some solid defense and tied the set at 15-15, forcing Lady Hawks head coach Jennifer Taliancich to call a timeout.

Unfortunately, the brief break did little to stop the Lady Cards’ momentum as Harlingen extended its lead to 21-15 and eventually won the game 25-19 much to the delight of the sizable Lady Cards contingent.

The second set tuned out to be a near mirror image of the first game as the Lady Hawks took a 13-9 lead only to watch it evaporate as Harlingen’s Yazmine Martinez and Brianna Ramos came to life at the net.

But unlike in the opening set, South fought back, tied things up at 22-22 and looked primed to tie the match up at 1-1.

Once again, however, the Lady Cards proved too much and eventually won the game 26-24 with Ramos tipping the ball in for the game winner.

“We managed to stay composed, stay disciplined and they really worked together as a team,” Martinez said. “These girls are just so humble and hungry that they do whatever it takes to get the job done. Thank God because we really needed this win to get us back on track.”

With momentum fully on their side heading into Game 3, the Lady Cards fought their way to a 15-11 lead and never looked back as they took the set 25-18 to seal the victory.

Despite the tough loss, Coach Taliancich remained positive.

“The Cardinals played tough and I was happy with the fact that I had some of my less experienced players step up on the block,” she said. “It’s hard because with these crosstown rivalry games you never know what to expect. Emotions play such a huge role in these games and it’s tougher to get back up when you’re down. But we knew Harlingen was going to be a tough team to beat.”

Meanwhile, despite the victory, Coach Martinez remained grounded.

“It was a big win, but we don’t really celebrate until the end of district,” she said. “Come Monday, we’re going to get back on it, watch film, continue to stay hungry and stay humble because we have a long way to go.”