KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

The regular season wrapped up Tuesday night across the Valley and district titles were decided as some teams found themselves in win or go home situations. Last season, some teams made deep runs into the postseason and that has volleyball fans wondering who will make the deepest run this season.

Lady Hounds back in the postseason: The Lady Hounds enter the playoffs as the third seed out of District 32-6A and will play Edinburg Vela in round one. This season marks the third straight season the Lady Hounds have qualified for the playoffs as they finished the regular season 9-5 in district play. Mean-while, Vela finished with a 12-2 record.

The two will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the San Benito freshman campus. Both teams are no stranger to each other as they faced off earlier this season with San Benito winning both matches.

Lady Cards force play-in game vs Hanna: After a rough loss against Brownsville Hanna last week, Harlingen faced a win-or-go home match against San Benito on Tuesday. The Lady Red Birds prevailed in five sets, setting up a play-in game against Hanna.

The play in game will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Hanna with the winner claiming the fourth seed and will play District 31-6A champion PSJA Memorial.

Both Hanna and Harlingen split their season series.

“It was an awesome game by both teams (on Oct. 21) and, honestly, it was a hard fight and it could have gone either way,” Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said recently.

Brownsville Rivera, the 32-6A champion, is awaiting the result of Friday’s 6 p.m. 31-6A play-in match at PSJA High between the Lady Bears and Edinburg North.

DISTRICDT 32-4A UPDATE: Port Isabel finished as the third-place team in 32-4A and now will go against the District 31-4A runner-up from the Coastal Bend next week in bi-district. La Feria won 32-4A and Raymondville was the runner-up.

La Feria will play either Ingleside or Orange Grove in the first round.

Rio Hondo and Progreso tied for fourth place in 32-4A at 6-8 and will have a play-in match at 3 p.m. Saturday at Progreso to figure out which of them makes it to the postseason.

Roy Hess of the Brownsville Herald Contributed to this story

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Lady Cardinals season was on the line Tuesday night against San Benito. Harlingen needed a win to force a play-in game against Brownsville Hanna, which beat Weslaco East earlier.

Big Red delivered with strong performances from Taegan Dickey and Yazmine Martinez.

“The girls knew it was do or die tonight,” said Harlingen coach Joslynn Torres. “After Game 4 I told the girls to give it everything they had because I wanted them to make themselves known, and they played their hearts out and I’m proud. They played with confidence and it showed tonight.”

Harlingen prevailed in five sets 25-19, 12-25, 26-24, 13-25,15-7. With the win the Lady Cards force a play-in game against Hanna with the time and place still to be decided. The Lady Cards and Lady Eagles finished with 8-6 records and split the sea-son series. The winner of the match will advance to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed while the loser will be done for the season.

On Tuesday, the Lady Cards got out in front by taking a 2-1 match lead, but the Lady Hounds made the night difficult for the Lady Cards with a strong Game 4 win.

The loss did not hurt the Lady Hounds as they had already clinched the third seed in the upcoming playoffs and will likely play Edinburg Vela in the first round round.

Entering the fifth set, the Lady Cards’ backs were against the wall as they hadn’t won a fifth game since a non-district win against McAllen High earlier this season. In past matches, Harlingen tended to fall behind early, but that wasn’t the case Tuesday night.

“Our backs were against the wall and it was important for us to come out strong from the start,” Torres said. “We played neck and neck with San Benito and we got it done, and now we have to keep fighting when we play Hanna. We took a good step forward tonight and we’re excited to get a chance to play Hanna again.”

Feeding off the emotions and home crowd, Harlingen raced out to a 9-4 lead and didn’t look back from there. The offense was led by Martinez’s 22-kill, 20-dig performance. Dickey contributed with 11 kills, Kirsten Kattan notched 14 kills and 15 digs while Alina Prado finished with 44 assists.

“Heading into Game 5 we didn’t want it to be our last game,” said Dickey. “We wanted to keep playing and we left everything on the court tonight. I knew we needed to win. It means so much for our seniors and I wanted to do everything we could to win. I got emotional because I’m going to miss them, they’re my best friends. Games like this prepare us for the big games and in Game 5 it all came together.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

WESLACO — The case was simple for the San Benito Greyhounds: Win and they’re into the playoffs.

The Lady Hounds shook off a slow start and defeated Weslaco 25-19, 25-13, 25-19, 25-23 on Saturday afternoon and secured their spot in the 2017 volleyball postseason.

The Lady Hounds (9-4) locked up the third seed and will finish the regular season at Harlingen High on Tuesday. The last time the two met, San Benito beat Harlingen in five sets.

The most likely opponent for the Lady Hounds in the first round of the playoffs will be Edinburg Vela (11-2), which locked is currently the No. 2 seed in District 31-6A.

On Saturday, the Lady Hounds overcame slow starts in both of the opening sets. Crystal Ibarra led the offense with 14 kills and 19 digs. Weslaco managed to take a 17-11 lead in the first set until the Lady Hounds found their footing and rallied behind a 14-2 run to secure the win.

The Lady Panthers fell behind two sets, but took advantage of the Lady Hounds’ errors and forced a fourth set with a 25-19 win in the third game.

In the fourth set, San Benito held off a late Weslaco rally. Kayleen Reyes contributed with eight kills and 31 digs, while Alysa Naranjo finished with 12 kills and eight digs.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — District 32-6A took an interesting turn Friday night as Harlingen High saw its five-game win streak snapped as Weslaco East picked up a huge 20-17 win at Boggus Stadium in the Valley Morning Star’s Game of the Week.

“I give a lot of credit to coach Mike Burget and his team,” said Cardinals coach Manny Gomez. “They came out here and did some great things. They played harder than us and that is the bottom line. It is what it is, but we can definitely learn from this.”

Missed Opportunities: Harlingen failed to cash in on scoring opportunities that ultimately hurt them in the end. Trailing 20-17, the Cardinals missed on a chance to take the lead after a fumble by Jaime Galvan inside the 10-yard line midway through the third quarter.

Later in the third quarter, cornerback Jayden-Joe Wright picked off East QB Richard LeFevre’s pass that set up the Cards at midfield. However, the Cards’ offense couldn’t convert on the turnover.

With 4:05 left in the game, Harlingen’s defense came up with a stop on fourth down that gave the Cardinals the ball at the 30-yard line trailing by three. QB Daniel Ramirez drove the offense down the field and on 4th-and-2 he hit Joe Reyna for a 4-yard pick up to keep the drive alive.

The fourth down conversion kept the drive going and helped set up a potential game-tying 37-yard field goal, but kicker Jacob Garza pushed the kick wide left with 34 seconds left in the game.

LeFevre airs it out: With scoring coming at a premium, Weslaco East managed to score on its opening possession. East quarterback LeFevre hit Ramsey Vasquez on a 30-yard pass that set up a 2-yard run from Danny Salinas that gave East the early 7-0 lead.

On the night, LeFevre made plenty of solid throws, but none bigger than a 78-yard touchdown pass to Jose Serna that gave East a 20-10 lead with 7:19 left in the third quarter.

“Sometimes it’s easier to stop the run than the pass, and tonight they did a good job through the air and we were not disciplined in the secondary and we gave up a big play,” Gomez said.

Back in the Race: Weslaco East (4-3, 2-2) claws its way back into the playoff picture with just three games remaining against Brownsville Rivera, Harlingen South and Brownsville Hanna. Meanwhile Harlingen (5-2, 3-1) remains in a good position and will turn its focus to a road game against Los Fresnos.

“You can never count out a Coach Burget team,” said Gomez. “They always come in ready to play and they did that tonight, they fought hard. At times they were able to take advantage of our mistakes and we couldn’t take advantage of theirs. It is what it is and that’s football.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

SAN BENITO — The San Benito Greyhounds have steamrolled their way through the toughest district in the Valley through the first seven weeks of the season.

San Benito’s offense has posted some impressive numbers by averaging 39 points per game.

The Hounds also boast some of the top athletes in the Valley and one key factor has been senior wide receiver Isaiah Trevino. The three-year varsity member may not have the biggest frame, but he uses his quick feet and soft hands to get past the defense.

This season Isaiah leads the Hounds in receiving yards with 264 yards, catches with 16 and is second on the team in all-purpose yards with 539.

“We have wanted this since our freshman year,” he said. “All of us together have had this goal of growing up and wanting to be something special. When we got to the varsity level we made sure we worked hard in the offseason and over the summer. Everyone on the team understood what we had to do and the work hasn’t stopped.”

Isaiah, who grew up in San Benito, has always been around the game of football and is no stranger to Greyhound football.

He had a close relationship with his grandfather, Alfredo Trevino Sr., and when he began playing flag football, his grandfather was there to coach him. In fact, Isaiah played for his grandfather until his final year of tackle football his sixth grade year.

“Growing up, that’s all I knew was football and my grandfather was the one who put football in my life and showed me the game. He coached me growing up and I learned so much.” he said.

Isaiah learned the game from his grandfather, who was a San Benito alum. The two went to all the Greyhounds games and as Isaiah grew older, the more he wanted to play for the Hounds.

When Isaiah was in sixth grade, his grandfather passed away and he found himself without his lifelong coach for the first time.

A lifelong goal of Trevino Sr. was to see his grandson play under the Friday night lights and Isaiah knows he is with him every game.

Isaiah has always been motivated to play the sport he loves and now carries his grandfather’s love for the game with him every time he steps onto the field.

“It means so much to me to be able to play for the Hounds,” Isaiah said. “My grandpa was a Greyhound and it was always his dream to see me play for San Benito. I know he would be proud of me today. The motivation has always been there. When it came to football we were always close. I know when I played there was a smile on his face and that made me feel good. Knowing that he isn’t here anymore, I play the game that I love and I know he would be proud.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — The road doesn’t get any easier for Harlingen South. Week Eight presents another challenge when the Hawks travel to Bobby Morrow Stadium to meet the top-ranked San Benito Greyhounds on Friday night.

“San Benito is a tough team and they have a lot of talented players,” said Hawks coach Brian Ricci. “Their quarterback can throw the ball and run it really well. They also have a very talented running back and they have a strong offensive line, so they’re solid across the board. The key for us is going to be tackling. We can’t allow them to get yards after contact.”

San Benito (6-0, 3-0) enters the contest with an unblemished record and has one of the top quarterback-running back combos in seniors Erick Retta and Tyrone Harper. Meanwhile, sophomore David Torres will be under center for the Hawks for only the fourth time this season.

“This is a tough district, and we understand and know this is what you get when you’re in this district,” said Ricci. “We have been playing better football each week and that’s our goal is to get better each week, and we have limited the turnovers on offense, which has been a plus for us.”

Torres continuing to progress as Hawks’ QB: David Torres has gotten a strong grasp of the offense and each week and has shown progress. Last week against Brownsville Hanna, Torres completed 15 of 29 passes with one touchdown for 156 yards.

With Torres at the helm, the Hawks have opened up their passing attack and will look to Derrick Delgado and Brady Bennett to haul in Torres’ throws.

“We have been able to add some new things and he (Torres) is picking up on the concepts very well,” said Ricci. “He’s done a great job on getting the ball out of his hand quickly and has thrown it with accuracy, and our receivers have stepped up and made plays. Earlier in the year we had some key drops and they have caught the ball better the past few weeks.”

The Hawks will continue to be without their feature back Jorge Alicea, who is still nursing an ankle injury. Emilio Quiroz has led the backfield in Alicea’s absence. Against Hanna, Quiroz had a solid outing carrying the ball 22 times for 107 yards.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

The playoff race in both District 32- and 31-6A became a bit clearer after Tuesday’s matches. Two matches remain in the regular season and there are still teams trying to clinch playoff berths.

District 32-6A saw Los Fresnos escape a Harlingen High rally in five sets, San Benito won a pivotal match against Brownsville Hanna and Brownsville Rivera clinched at least a share of the league title.

Los Fresnos, Rivera set to clash Saturday: Thanks to a 25-7, 25-7, 25-15 win at home Tuesday against Weslaco East, the Rivera Lady Raiders (12-0) clinched at least a tie for the 32-6A championship.

Rivera closes out the regular season at second-place Los Fresnos (10-2) at noon Saturday and plays at home at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against Harlingen South.

Los Fresnos is the only other 32-6A team that has clinched a playoff spot. The district’s final two postseason berths will go to San Benito (8-4), Harlingen High (7-5) or Hanna (6-6). Hanna is at home against Harlingen at noon Saturday and San Benito is at Harlingen at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Lady Raiders are district champions for the first time since 2007.

Rivera’s solid, consistent play on defense perhaps has been the difference in giving the Lady Raiders a bit of an edge against the 32-6A competition.

“Our girls have been playing aggressively and pretty smart,” Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said. “I tell our girls to keep the ball alive (defensively) because when they do that, the other team’s offense tends to get frustrated. I know that for a fact because it’s happened to us.”

Cards and Hounds eyeing final two spots: San Benito picked up a huge win Tuesday night against Brownsville Hanna. The win puts the Lady Hounds in prime position for a playoff spot with two games against Weslaco and Harlingen remaining.

The Lady Hounds are (8-4) currently the three seed in 32-6A and a win Saturday would lock up a playoff berth.

Harlingen and Hanna are battling for the final playoff spot in 32-6A and the two will meet Saturday at Hanna. In order for Hanna to clinch a playoff berth it needs to win out and hope Harlingen drops its final two matches.

The Lady Cards remain a game up and are in control of their own destiny. Harlingen does have an uphill battle over the final two games against Hanna and San Benito.

Raymondville, La Feria set for district title match: For the second straight season, the District 32-4A title will be decided on the final day of the regular season between Raymondville and La Feria.

Last season, La Feria beat Raymondville on the Lionettes home court to claim the crown outright. This year, Raymondville will host La Feria on Monday. The case is simple: La Feria can win the district title outright with a win. A Raymondville win would give the Lady Kats a share of the league crown.

La Feria is looking to bounce back after falling to Rio Hondo on Tuesday.

Roy Hess of the Brownsville Herald contributed to this story

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — As we get closer to the end of the regular season, District 32-6A has not disappointed as one of the toughest districts in the Valley.

Heading into the season, many penciled in Harlingen versus Weslaco East as one of the top games. Entering Week Eight, both teams come in on different pages.

“Every week is important,” said Cards coach Manny Gomez. “Throughout the Valley we have seen some injuries and that’s just part of the game, that’s why every week we make it a goal to win one game a week. Any time you can win in this district it’s an accomplishment.”

Harlingen enters Friday night with a 5-1, 3-0 record and has won five in a row. Senior quarterback Daniel Ramirez continues to lead the offense with 14 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He has thrown for 1,263 yards and boasts a dazzling 116 QB rating.

Ramirez has leaned on his top two targets, Joe Reyna and Ethan Martinez. The duo wide receivers have caused headaches for opposing defenses. Martinez leads the team in receiving yards with 438 and in catches with 29. Reyna, meanwhile, leads the team in receiving touchdowns with seven.

The offense will have a tall task against a strong Weslaco East defense, which has the ability to rush the passer with Jacob Banda and Gerald Garza.

LeFevre pacing offense for East: With Weslaco East missing running backs Freddy Gonzalez and Roy Pedraza as well as utility man JC Vargas, senior quarterback Richard LeFevre has carried a bulk of the work on the ground and through the air.

In a Week Seven loss to Los Fresnos, LeFevre ran for 104 yards on 13 carries which both marked season highs. Josh Gonzalez led the backfield with 14 carries and 86 yards.

East’s offense, like Harlingen’s, will have a tough task against a Cardinal defense that has been clicking over the past few weeks. Big Red’s defense is yielding just 15 points per game, which leads District 32-6A.

“They (East) are a physical team, but that’s what Weslaco East does they’re an aggressive team. We just need to be ready to meet their physicality and make sure we bring our will and aggressiveness. It’s going to be a challenge and the kids will be ready,” Gomez said.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — Tuesday night’s match between Los Fresnos and Harlingen High had all a volleyball fan could ask for.

After dropping the first two sets to the Lady Falcons, the Lady Cardinals rallied to win the next two sets to force a fifth set. Unfortunately for Harlingen, Los Fresnos buckled down and escaped with a 25-17, 25-14, 25-23, 25-23, 15-6 win.

With the victory and a Brownsville Hanna loss, Los Fresnos (10-2) clinched a playoff berth in District 32-6A. The Lady Falcons are still in the mix for a district title with two games remaining. Meanwhile, Harlingen (7-5) is sitting in the fourth spot behind San Benito (8-4), which beat Hanna.

“They (Harlingen) hung in there and battled back,” said Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods. “We let our guard down and they came back and took advantage. I give Harlingen credit because they have improved and played us down to the wire. Harlingen had some great hitting and their libero did a great job tonight. They adjusted well and we were able to counter it and get the win.”

Los Fresnos came out swinging in the first two sets with convincing wins led by Giselle Ibarra, who had a huge performance with 25 digs and 25 kills. Sarah Villarreal picked up 15 digs and fed the offense with a team-high 34 assists.

The Lady Cards had been down two sets before, including against McAllen High earlier in the season. After winning the third set, it looked like the Lady Cards found that magic and rallied to force a fifth set after winning both sets 25-23 behind their seniors Yazmine Martinez and Kirsten Kattan.

“Our seniors stepped up and did not want to lose,” said Harlingen coach Joslynn Torres. “Tonight, I saw the fight and the heart from the kids, I’m proud of them on not giving up. Our seniors stepped up and made plays for us when we needed them to. I told the girls we needed to play with composer and poise, and before the fifth set I told the girls it will come down to who makes fewer mistakes. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes.”

Harlingen battled back in both the third and fifth sets with a strong offensive attack and adjusted its defense, which countered the Los Fresnos attack. Martinez finished with 15 kills, four aces and 11 digs. Kattan notched 12 kills and eight digs.

With two games left in the regular season, the Lady Cards are in control of their own playoff destiny with matches against Hanna and San Benito remaining. The Lady Cards will travel to Hanna on Saturday while Los Fresnos has its sights set on unbeaten Brownsville Rivera, which clinched a share of the league title on Tuesday with a win over Weslaco East.

“We have a quick turnaround and have to get ready for Hanna,” said Harlingen’s Torres. “They’re playing for a playoff spot and so are we. It’s going to be big.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — The District 32-6A volleyball playoff race got turned up a notch Saturday afternoon.

After falling in the first set, San Benito turned in a gut-check effort by rallying in sets two and three to beat Harlingen South 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Lady Hawks gym.

Saturday’s win was big for the Lady Hounds, who saw Harlingen High also pick up a win, keeping both teams at 7-4 in league play. Meanwhile, Brownsville Hanna threw a wrench in the standings by upsetting Los Fresnos.

The win for the Lady Hounds became even bigger with Hanna’s win as on Tuesday San Benito will host the Lady Eagles in a match that will have huge playoff implications. San Benito beat Hanna earlier in the season 3-1.

“We started slow in the first set because we were shorthanded today so we had to go out with a new lineup, but our girls were able to adjust,” said San Benito coach Ruby Medina. “The girls did what they needed to do. It was challenging for the girls to get the hang of a new rotation. After the first set we saw what we needed to correct and in the next games we showed it and the kids deserved the win.”

In both the second and third set, San Benito fell behind early twice. In the second set Harlingen South raced out to a 12-5 lead and held on until San Benito rallied to tie the score at 19. The Lady Hounds finished off the comeback by going on a late 6-1 run.

Lady Hounds senior Crystal Ibarra answered the call with a team-high 16 kills and 16 digs while Kayleen Reyes checked in 11 kills and 18 digs.

“This was the toughest game we have played since we played Harlingen High,” said Ibarra. “They (South) played really well today. We started out rough today, but we all pulled through. Today we all had the same goal and were on the same page. We never got down on ourselves and kept playing.”

In the third set, South raced out to a 10-3 lead and extended its lead to 12-6. But San Benito rallied again by adjusting to its new lineup and leaned on their veterans. San Benito took a 20-19 lead after trailing for most of the match and completed the comeback with a 25-21 win.