By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Hanna and San Benito are such evenly matched volleyball teams that no lead would seem to be safe.

Tuesday’s District 32-6A match at Hanna was proof of that. The two teams entered the contest tied for third place in district at 7-4.

Hanna was looking good after winning the first two games, but San Benito battled back to win 23-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-14, 15-12.

“I’m very happy by the performance of our girls at the end,” San Benito coach Rudy Medina said. “I know Hanna got us in the first two games. My girls weren’t playing how the team that I know is capable of playing. That kind of upset me, but of course, the final product of it all was we won the match because they wanted it and they realized what they needed to do to finalize it.

“(After the first two games and we were trailing 2-0), I just told the girls that we’ve been in that situation before and that it wasn’t over,” Medina added. “I told them we could come back, but that we had to be mentally strong and believe that we could do it. I knew they could do it because these girls are a great team. It’s a big boost to our playoff hopes.”

San Benito takes over sole possession of third place in district at 8-4 behind first-place and outright champion Los Fresnos (12-0) and second-place Rivera (9-3). Hanna slips to fourth place at 7-5.

On Tuesday, over the first four games, each team won a close game and then one by a decisive margin, so it all came down to the fifth set.

In that fifth game, Hanna was again looking good with a 6-1 advantage and later was up 8-4 and 9-5, but the Lady Golden Eagles couldn’t maintain their lead. The score was soon tied at 10 and then 11.

That was when the Lady Greyhounds’ Arlene Lucero came up big, scoring three of the next five points to lift her team to victory. Her block made it 12-11 and her tip upped the lead to 13-11. Her block on match point made it 15-12 for San Benito and clinched the win.

For San Benito, Kayleen Reyes, Lilly Leon and Alysa Naranjo finished with 20, 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Larisa Garcia and Sarah Garcia added 37 and 20 digs, respectively, and Ariel Garcia contributed 29 assists.

For Hanna, Lauren Webb had 23 kills and six blocks while teammate Ryan Wood had 15 kills and two blocks. Halle Penrod contributed eight kills and two blocks, and Alexa Hernandez had four kills.

Hanna next plays Saturday against Harlingen High and San Benito goes against Weslaco High the same day.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Playing an area team tennis tournament that includes squads from Brownsville and Harlingen is a relatively new competition.

It’s an event that is only three or four years old, the coaches say. The top two teams from each district used to advance directly to the regional tournament, but that’s no longer the case.

The Hanna Golden Eagles have participated in the area tournament every season it has existed.

The area tournament is scheduled again Tuesday. The top teams from District 32-6A and District 31-6A — four from each district — square off in dual match competition to see which of them will reach Thursday’s championship match at 4 p.m. at Harlingen South.

In 32-6A, No. 19 state-ranked South was the district winner with Harlingen High in second, Hanna in third and Los Fresnos in fourth. In 31-6A, Edinburg Vela was the winner with Edinburg High in second, Edinburg North in third and Edinburg Economedes in fourth.

Beginning at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the tournament’s quarterfinal matchups will be Hanna vs. Edinburg High at Harlingen High, Los Fresnos at Edinburg Vela, Harlingen High at Edinburg North and Economedes at South. The four quarterfinal winners play Tuesday afternoon. The semifinal victors move on to Thursday’s title showdown. The area tournament’s top two teams advance to Class 6A regional competition Oct. 27-28 in San Antonio.

Veteran Hanna tennis coach Terry Hoover, now in his 42nd year of guiding the Eagles, said it’s been another productive team tennis season for his squad.

“I think we improved a lot from the start of the school year,” Hoover said. “We’ve had a lot of really young players step up. Our boys have matured on the court and started being very solid. We’re real happy about where we are right now.

“I see that our team is composed of a lot of fighters who work hard and keep a positive attitude,” Hoover added. “I think our mental game is pretty tough. It’s been an exciting team tennis season. We’ve played some really good teams. There are no weak sisters in our district. Everybody’s competitive. Hopefully we can keep it going (into spring tennis).

Playing for the Hanna boys are Alan Garcia, Servando Robles, Raul Caballero, Luis Aguirre, Jonathan Martinez, Jorge Diaz and Adrian Aguilar.

For the Lady Eagles, the players are Paulina de Leon, Jessica Sosa, Rebecca Fernandez, Natalia Cordova, Taylor Crouch, Leslie Arrezolo, Elise Zamora and Paloma Rodriguez.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

St. Joseph Academy just completed its first varsity season of volleyball with a 9-4 record.

The volleyball program at SJA began last year at the sub-varsity level under the guidance of veteran coach Dolores Olguin-Trevino. She previously coached the sport at Hanna and Los Fresnos.

“Since we weren’t in a district, we played anyone who would schedule a match with us,” Olguin-Trevino said. “The team members included six freshmen, three sophomores and two juniors. Five of the freshmen played last year in the first group of girls pioneering the start of volleyball at St. Joe. There is a good core group that has developed and will hopefully continue to grow and learn the game.

“My hope is that we will become competitive enough to play some of the bigger schools,” she added. “Volleyball is growing and thriving at St. Joseph Academy. Hopefully there will be more girls come out for the team.”

Members of the Lady Bloodhounds’ squad this season are Steffi Hunter, Tori Gonzalez, Ally Stachowiak, Summer Greer, Nikki Escamilla, Juliet Reyes, AnaSofia Montemayor, Lesly de la Llate, Elizabeth Fletes, Diana Arriaga, Paulina Garcia, Arely Fonrouge and Milandra Bossolo.

Olguin-Trevino said the school’s seventh- and eighth-grade squads are still playing until the end of the month. Those teams are coached by Amanda Fulton and Laura Zamarripa. The eighth-graders are 7-0 in district and the seven-graders are 4-3.

32-5A UPDATE

Coupled with results elsewhere in the district, Brownsville Veterans Memorial captured the District 32-5A championship with Saturday’s 26-28, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 victory against Lopez.

Mercedes upset Edcouch-Elsa in three games Saturday, handing the Lady Yellowjackets their fourth district loss. It tied them for second place in 32-5A with Donna High, both at 7-4.

No one can now catch Brownsville Veterans in the 32-5A title chase.

There are three district matches remaining for the Lady Chargers, who want to complete 32-5A competition with an undefeated record and then do well in the playoffs.

“It feels really great,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said. “We’ve had our struggles, especially in the beginning, but to know that their hard work and dedication has paid off feels really good. The girls are excited and are really looking forward to finishing strong (in district) and continuing (to do well) in the postseason.”

Brownsville Veterans is atop the 32-5A standings at 11-0 while E-E and Donna High are next at 7-4. Pace is in fourth place at 6-5 followed by Lopez, Mercedes and Donna North, all 4-7, and then Porter at 2-9.

Tuesday’s schedule has Porter at Brownsville Veterans, E-E at Pace, Lopez at Mercedes and Donna North at Donna High.

32-6A UPDATE

Los Fresnos gained a share of the District 32-6A championship with Saturday’s three-game victory at Hanna. Three matches remain on the 32-6A schedule.

The 32-6A defending champion Lady Falcons can claim the title outright at home Tuesday against Harlingen High.

“When we step on the court, every match is a new match and every team is a new team (to play),” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “We just have to realize it’s 0-0 every time we step out there.

“I’m proud of our girls,” she added. “We need three more wins to go undefeated (in district again). It’ll be fun (the rest of the way).”

Behind Los Fresnos (11-0) in the district standings are Rivera (8-3), Hanna (7-4), San Benito (7-4), Harlingen High (6-5), Weslaco East and Weslaco High (both 2-9) and Harlingen South (0-11).

Besides the match at Los Fresnos, the rest of Tuesday’s 32-6A schedule has San Benito at Hanna, Rivera at Weslaco East and Weslaco High at Harlingen South.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

All Jackie Kingsbury has ever known during her four-year varsity volleyball career at Los Fresnos is winning district championships.

That distinction became a reality again for Kingsbury and her Lady Falcon teammates on Saturday at Hanna after a 25-20, 25-17, 25-15 District 32-6A victory against the Lady Golden Eagles.

The win clinched at least a share of the 32-6A crown.

Kingsbury, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter/all-around player and NCAA Division I commit, is the only one for Los Fresnos who has been part of the Lady Falcons’ most recent four district title squads. Her teammates are getting used to the feeling of winning championships as well.

“I’m really grateful for these girls who have worked so hard to achieve it with me,” said Kingsbury of the Lady Falcons’ repeat of the district crown. “Thank you to the coaches for believing in us. All these four years of hard practices have paid off. Of course, we still want more (than just a share of the title).

“At the beginning of the season maybe there was a little doubt (about what we could do),” she added. “I think we’ve been showing great improvement and we’re getting to where we’d like to be (as far as our play).”

Los Fresnos improved to 11-0 in district with the win with three matches remaining. Third-place Hanna, still very much in line for a playoff spot, slipped to 7-4.

“I give credit to Hanna,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “All three games were close. We knew we just needed to come out and play (to our capabilities). We knew if we won we would clinch a share of the title. We still have three remaining (district) matches, but now we can look ahead and start planning and seeing who it is we might play in the playoffs.”

Kingsbury led the Lady Falcons with 22 kills. It gave her 1,000 for her varsity career at Los Fresnos. She became the first one at the school to reach that milestone. Kingsbury also had 10 digs and one block.

Also for the Lady Falcons, Giselle Ibarra had eight kills, five blocks and five digs, while Ashley Tumlison had eight kills, 10 digs and three aces. Isis Delgado contributed 20 digs and one ace. Gio De La Torre added seven digs.

For Hanna, Ryan Wood had nine kills, three blocks and one ace, while Laren Webb contributed eight kills, six blocks and two aces. Alexa Herrera had three kills and Halle Penrod had two kills.

“I think our girls played very well in the first two sets and they hung in there,” Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “The two teams were pretty even, but we just made a few more errors. We scored on our hits, our tips and our serves, so that was very positive. We have been working a lot on blocking and I think it paid off today.”

When the two teams met in the first round of district on Sept. 20 in Los Fresnos, the Lady Falcons prevailed over the Lady Eagles 25-14, 25-16, 25-21.

District action continues Tuesday as Hanna plays host to San Benito and Los Fresnos is at home against Harlingen High.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Andrea de la Rosa of Rivera and Luis Ramirez of Weslaco East captured top honors at Friday’s District 32-6A cross country meet at Harlingen Sports Complex.

They were individual champions of the girls and boys varsity races over a 5,000-meter course.

The Top 10 individual finishers plus the top three teams in each varsity division qualified for the Region IV meet on Oct. 29 in Corpus Christi.

Harlingen High’s boys and San Benito’s girls captured district team championships.

For de la Rosa, who won the 32-6A girls varsity race as a freshman one year ago, it wasn’t much of a surprise that she captured a district title again. She’s won all of her races this season except for one in Corpus Christi last month. In that one, she barely missed placing first in a photo finish and took second.

Just like most of her races, de la Rosa built a comfortable lead before the midpoint of the course and cruised to victory in 18 minutes, 55 seconds. Second-place finisher Gloria Martinez of Weslaco High came in 43 seconds later with a time of 19:38.62.

“This is awesome. It’s just great,” de la Rosa said. “I’m so proud of my teammates and myself. I was going to give it my all in district, and that’s what I did. I want to congratulate my team and especially (teammate) ‘J-Lo’ (Jennifer Lopez). She got fourth place and I know she gave it her all. That’s what I know.”

Third through fifth place in the girls race went to Harlingen South’s Mya Price (20:06.46), Rivera’s Lopez (20:07.50) and San Benito’s Lauren Rodriguez (20:15.22).

About halfway through the boys race, Ramirez, a junior, pulled away and wound up winning comfortably as well in 16:10.34. Second place went to Rivera’s Jonathan Herrera in 16:21.0. Finishing third through fifth place were Harlingen High teammates Art Benavides (16:29:15) and Edward Ramos (16:34.68), and Hanna’s Julio Dragustinovis (16:34.90).

“I let the others lead (early) and then I just took off,” Ramirez said of his strategy in the race. “I made my break about a mile and a half into it. This feels great. It makes me want to try harder and place up there again (at regionals).

“I would just say congratulations to all the runners who ran this 5K,” he added.

The Harlingen High boys won their team title with 57 points in a close battle with second-place Hanna, which finished with 62 points. Weslaco High was third with 90 points.

Besides Benavides and Ramos, other runners scoring points for the Cardinals included Fernando Escobar (10th) and Saul Medina (18th).

“I’m proud of our team,” Harlingen High coach Efrain Ambriz said. “They have put in so much time and effort. This group has been together since they were freshmen. We have gotten closer each season.

“Today it was their time to shine,” Ambriz added. “I couldn’t be happier for them.”

San Benito captured the 32-6A girls title with 53 points. Weslaco High took second place with 75 and Hanna was third with 85.

Besides Rodriguez in fifth place, other runners doing well for the Lady Greyhounds included Monica Hernandez (seventh), Alexandra Luna (10th), McKayla Guerra (14th) and Angie Valle (17th).

District 32-6A CC Meet
At Harlingen Sports Complex
Friday’s results
5-kilometer course

Girls division
Team standings — 1. San Benito, 53 points; 2. Weslaco High, 75; 3. Hanna, 85; 4. Weslaco East, 105; 5. Harlingen South, 116; 6. Harlingen High, 145; 7. Rivera, 141; 8. Los Fresnos, 163

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Let the record show the first district championship of the new school year in athletics at Brownsville Veterans Memorial was won by the Chargers in team tennis.

“It feels nice (to be district champions),” team member Robert Rodriguez said. “We hope the rest of the teams at school do as well and we have many more trophies. It’s pretty good to be playing with people who are close to you and your friends.”

Added teammate Garret Wild, “It’s a great opportunity (to be on this team).”

Brownsville Veterans captured the District 32-5A title in team tennis earlier this month with a 7-0 record, just ahead of second-place Donna High, which finished 6-1. Also qualifying for the playoffs from 32-5A were third-place Porter and fourth-place Edcouch-Elsa.

All four schools will play in an eight-team Class 5A area tournament next Wednesday at Sharyland High along with four squads from District 31-5A. The top two teams from the area tournament advance to regional competition Oct. 27-28 in San Antonio.

Playing in the numbers 1-6 singles positions for the Chargers are Raul Hernandez, Nick Marroquin, Wild, Rodriguez, Alejandro de la Garza and Jose Garza. Also on the boys squad are Joseph Flores and Adrian Santillana.

Playing in the first through sixth singles spots for the Lady Chargers are Brianna Garza, Cassandra Sanchez, Sofia Garza, Christina Alcala, Isabella Vasquez and Alejandra Munoz. Also playing for the Lady Chargers are Issayana Gavino and Brenda Torre.

Vasquez and Gavino, both sophomores, are undefeated this season as No. 3 doubles partners. Other members of the team also have gone unbeaten through district.

“We go in and just play, not expecting that we’ll (continue to) be undefeated,” Gavino said. “We practice hard and work together. We’ve all worked hard together to get this district title.”

Added Vasquez, “We get out there, have fun and win. It’s great to represent the Veterans tennis team. It’s an honor for both of us and the rest of the team. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Directing the team is second-year coach Leo Casanova.

“This is the first district title in team tennis for the school,” Casanova said. “We’re hoping for big things in the playoffs and we hope the momentum carries over to next year (and spring tennis). We’re trying to set the tone (for Brownsville Veterans’ athletics) for the school year.

“Our boys have been running through the (district) competition,” Casanova added. “They usually come through with victories in at least eight of the nine (singles and doubles) matches and sometimes all nine. There’s been a lot of pressure on them, but they’re up to the challenge. The girls are doing their thing, too. We’re just hoping for good things (to happen).”

The Chargers are in the team tennis postseason for the second straight year. Last season they finished fourth in District 32-6A to qualify for the playoffs.

“It feels extraordinary because it’s the second time we’ve gone to the playoffs,” Marroquin said. “The majority of the team are seniors. It’s our last year, so this is kind of like our final hurrah. It’s exciting because we’ve been here since summer practicing pretty hard every day.”

Added Hernandez, “We’ve never actually won district before in all my four years here. We’ve done a lot of things as far as drills and practicing to get to where we are now. We’re going to go out, do our best in the playoffs and hope to make it to state.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS — The Los Fresnos Falcons, ranked No. 6 in the Rio Grande Valley, pulled even at 2-2 in the fiercely contested District 32-6A race with a wild 34-31 victory Friday against the Hanna Golden Eagles at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

It was a back-and-forth contest that saw the lead change hands five times in the second half after a 14-14 deadlock at intermission.

After starting off 0-2 in 32-6A, the Falcons (4-3 overall) now have won two straight district games. The Falcons rallied to edge Weslaco East 17-16 on the road last week.

“I see a good football team every week, but we just can’t seem to put together a full 48 minutes of football,” Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown said. “Turnovers, penalties and that type of stuff are killing us (and making our games close).

“It would be nice to win by three or four touchdowns and not have to come back every game,” Brown added. “I think our players have shown resilience the last two weeks and have come back to win. We’re going to take a win no matter what. We’ll take this one and move on.”

Hanna went up 31-28 with 3:35 left when the Eagles’ Nate Silva pounced on a loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown. It was a result of the Falcons’ punter letting the snap slip out of his hands when attempting to kick the ball away out of his end zone. He couldn’t contol the snap and Hanna went ahead by scoring the TD.

The Falcons responded by quickly driving down the field. Running back John Salazar went over the goal line from 1 yard out with 2:22 remaining to put Los Fresnos ahead for good, 34-31, even though the extra-point kick failed.

Hanna marched to midfield with time winding down and came up short by gaining only 1 yard on a fourth-and-two play from its 46-yard line as the Falcons regained possession with 1:05 showing and ran out the clock.

Los Fresnos QB Mark Mata rushed for first-quarter touchdowns of 25 and 34 yards while while passing 42 yards for another score to Nico Valencia in the third period. Mata finished the night with 170 yards rushing and 246 yards passing.

Hanna’s Jaime Gonzalez rushed for 158 yards and a TD in the second quarter to go over 1,000 yards on the ground for the season.

Hanna, coming off last week’s last-second 19-16 victory against Harlingen South, slipped to 3-4 on the season and 2-2 in district.

“I thought our players played one heck of a ballgame,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “Once again, nobody outside of our locker room believed we had a shot to win in this one, and here we were at the end of the game with an opportunity to pull it out. When it came down to it, we just didn’t make the plays we needed to make (at the end).

“This district is the SEC of the Valley,” Guess added. “Anybody can beat anybody else on a given night.”

Both teams are on the road as 32-6A action continues next Friday. Hanna plays at San Benito and Los Fresnos visits Harlingen High.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Brownsville Veterans Memorial remained undefeated in the District 32-5A volleyball race with a 25-17, 25-18, 25-21 victory at home Tuesday against Edcouch-Elsa.

The 32-5A-leading Lady Chargers improved to 10-0 in district play and E-E remains in second place at 7-3.

“The girls have been practicing hard and everything seems to be working for us right now,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said. “Our defense with our offense is working well. There were a few bad passes here and there tonight, but overall, things went pretty well.

“I feel the girls really want it,” Mares added regarding the 32-5A title. “We’ve never won district by ourselves. We’ve always been co-champions. And we’ve never won it with an undefeated record. So now, our girls are hungry for that. I don’t really have to do much to motivate them. They’re motivating themselves (to win 32-5A with a 14-0 record).”

E-E never led in either of the first two games Tuesday as the Lady Chargers surged to early advantages of 5-1 in both sets en route to winning by somewhat comfortable margins.

The defending 32-5A champion Lady Yellowjackets went up by as many as three points three times early in the third game.

The last time was 8-5 before the Lady Chargers rallied and went in front for good after the score was tied at nine.

The Lady Chargers’ Victoria Huerta won the final two points of the third game on a kill and then a tip as Brownsville Veterans pulled away to take the third game 25-21 and sweep the match.

Then the two teams played during the first round of district in Edcouch on Sept. 17, the Lady Chargers prevailed 25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 29-27.

“I know we can play better and more consistent,” veteran E-E coach Ofelia Griffith said. “That’s been something that we’ve struggled with this season because I think we have a very strong program if you look at our history. We’ve been up there (winning district) seven of the last eight years.

“We do have a good program with talented girls and that’s why it makes it a little more frustrating to have a match like this,” she added. “It comes down to communication — talking to each other and being more consistent. We can play well, we’ve just got to do it regularly. There are matches that we do and there are some like this one tonight when we don’t.”

Sparking the Lady Chargers with eight kills each were Bridget Himes, Rebecca Cardenas and Victoria Huerta. Himes had two blocks and Cardenas one.

Teammates Cynthia Garcia and Cassie Valdez added seven and six kills, respectively. Valdez also had 24 assists and 17 digs.

Also for the Lady Chargers, Paola Villarreal had 43 digs, Mariann Villarreal had 23 digs and Kasandra Jimenez had 15 digs.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

The Los Fresnos volleyball team figures to become the first one from District 32-6A to clinch a playoff spot this week.

Yet, the Lady Falcons want so much more.

With five matches remaining on the district schedule, Los Fresnos leads 32-6A with a 9-0 record followed by Rivera (7-2), Hanna (6-3), Harlingen High (5-4), San Benito (5-4), Weslaco East (2-7), Weslaco High (1-8) and Harlingen South (0-9).

Depending upon results of Tuesday’s other district matches, the Lady Falcons could secure a playoff berth that night when they play at home against Weslaco East. If it doesn’t happen then, Los Fresnos could clinch a postseason spot at Hanna on Saturday.

For the 32-6A defending champion Lady Falcons, it’s all part of an overall plan.

“We have set three goals,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “No. 1, (to be) district champs; No. 2, an undefeated district season; and No. 3, to reach the third round of the playoffs or go beyond.

“It has to be in that order,” Woods added. “You see we can be district champs without having an undefeated (32-6A) season, so this is what we have our sights set on. It should be an exciting finish.”

The Lady Falcons (21-13 overall) have won nine straight matches since last losing Sept. 3 at home against McAllen Memorial.

“Things are really clicking for us now,” Woods said. “We have the lineup down with the substitutions going in and out smoothly. With five district matches to go, we have to play to our fullest potential now to prepare for the postseason.”

In other 32-6A matches Tuesday, it’s San Benito at Rivera, Hanna at Harlingen South and Harlingen High at Weslaco High.

32-5A SCENARIO

In District 32-5A. Brownsville Veterans Memorial is in much the same situation as Los Fresnos. A playoff berth appears close at hand this week for the Lady Chargers as well.

Brownsville Veterans (24-12 overall) leads the district with a 9-0 record ahead of Edcouch-Elsa (7-2), Pace (5-4), Donna High (5-4), Lopez (4-5), Mercedes (3-6), Porter (2-7) and Donna North (2-7). Five district dates remain in the regular season.

The Lady Chargers play host to E-E on Tuesday while the rest of the 32-5A schedule that night has Mercedes at Pace, Lopez at Donna High and Porter at Donna North.

“After first place it gets kind of crazy in this district,” said Pace coach Gavin Rudder, whose team is coming off Saturday’s 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-12 triumph at home against Porter. “Veterans would have to basically forfeit the rest of the season in order to give anyone else a chance (at first place). The rest of this district — second through fourth place (for the playoffs) — is wide open. Actually, through eighth place, really, because you never know who is going to show up to do what one day and maybe not do as well another day.

“We’ve finally found a rotation that’s working for us and getting everyone in the correct position they need to be in to give us the best opportunity to be successful,” Rudder added. “Our defense has been the main core of our team this year. My back row is comprised of all seniors, and they just take care of the floor. Our hitting is starting to come around, too. We’re starting to see the court better (when attempting kills).”

The Lady Vikings have won four of their last five matches and Tuesday will seek to avenge a first-round, five-game loss at Mercedes on Sept. 17.

“You never know who’s going to show up (and win) in this district,” Rudder said.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Pace seems to bring out the best in Porter on the volleyball court.

At 2-7 in District 32-5A, the Cowgirls appear to be a longshot for the playoffs. But when they play the Lady Vikings, especially this season, the Porter girls come to life and make their matches against Pace quite a lively rivalry.

It was back and forth between the two teams throughout Saturday’s 32-5A match as the Lady Vikings (5-4 district) somehow found a way to prevail over the Cowgirls 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-12 at the Pace gym.

“Like I said before, anytime you get Pace and Porter together (on the volleyball court), it’s always going to be a dogfight,” Lady Vikings coach Gavin Rudder said. “Just how we pulled off a win in this match, I’m not real sure yet. It was back and forth, and we just happened to make that last point.

“After the match I told (Porter coach) Ariel (Arredondo), ‘Be proud of your team because your girls played great today,’” Rudder added. “‘They’ve got a lot of heart and they give a lot of effort. They showed it today with some of the balls they picked up.’”

Pace won for the fourth time in five district matches and now is tied for third place in 32-5A with Donna High, both at 5-4. Brownsville Veterans Memorial leads the district at 9-0 and Edcouch-Elsa is second at 7-2.

When the Cowgirls and Lady Vikings met in the first round of district on Sept. 13 at Porter, the Cowgirls won 25-13, 16-25, 25-19, 25-19.

“Pace came out to play well today,” Arredondo said. “I know we took the match in the first half of district. Knowing Coach Rudder and his girls, they weren’t going to let that happen again when we played here in their gym.

“Unfortunately for us, the team that made the least errors is the team that won,” she added. “Pace is an amazing team, and I really hope they’re able to push through and make it to the playoffs. We were able to pick up a lot of balls today that seemed kind of impossible to get to. We stayed in the match and took it to that fifth game after being down two games to one. Still, I’m not going to take anything from Pace. Their girls did an awesome job today.”

The fifth game was a prime example of how the whole match went. In it Porter led 3-0 before Pace came back to go up by four points twice at 10-6 and 11-7. Then there were ties in the score at 11 and 12. From there, the Lady Vikings surged ahead to win the final game 15-12 as Stephanie Saenz registered kills on two of the last three points in the match.

Leading the way for Pace were Angie Cardenas and Summer Bohn with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Bohn also had 16 digs while Cardenas had six digs and two solo blocks.

Also for Pace, Kalynn Quezada had 27 digs and 16 assists while Amanda Gomez had 21 assists and 13 digs. Libero Ebony Casanova contributed 42 digs.

For Porter, Andrea Villanueva had 14 kills and teammate Melanie Gasca had 13 kills and five blocks. Also for Porter, April Reyes had 45 digs.