HARLINGEN — Brownsville Rivera’s Melanni Garza point at the net during the fourth set of a District 32-6A match Tuesday sealed a comeback win for the Raiders over Harlingen High.
The Raiders won 21-25, 30-28, 25-23, 25-23 in a highly competitive match against the Cardinals Tuesday in Harlingen.
“They played awesome,” Rivera head coach Mary Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said. “They were together, playing united, talking to each other and trying to help each other out. They kept reminding each other to just stay in the game, focus and play their positions, and they did. They did an awesome job.”
The win moves Brownsville Rivera to 3-1 and second in District 32-6A. The loss for Harlingen High puts them also at 3-1. The Cardinals play Los Fresnos at 12 p.m. Saturday in Los Fresnos. Los Fresnos are 4-0 in the district.
Harlingen High was up 10-5 at one point in the fourth set, but the Raiders came back during the set with kills from Emily Morales and Garza, a kill by Morales gave Brownsville Rivera the 20-15 lead in the set.
The Cardinals came back to tie the set 23-23 as they tried to tie the match, but a bad serve gave the Raiders the match point opportunity and Garza finished the match.
“I just did everything that I had in me,” Garza, a sophomore, said. “I pushed through it; I was really tired. I am supper happy, we worked hard all week, we deserved it.”
The third set was another contentious set between two of the top teams in District 32-6A. Brownsville Rivera pulled away late in the set and won the set when Garza’s hit found her target to give the Raiders the set.
Raiders senior Richelle Guerra pitched in with great defensive plays from her libero position to help win points in the set.
Brownsville Rivera built a comfortable 18-11 lead in the second set. Rivera’s Xandria Johnson scored two back-to-back points at the net to help the Raiders gain the lead.
The Cardinals responded with points from Casey Vidal, Juli Bryant and two fake setups by Julie Valdez found space between the rows as Harlingen High tied the match at 21. A back-and-forth between Rivera’s Morales and Harlingen High’s Bryant ensued in the overtime stages of the set.
Rivera took the set when the Cardinals hit the ball out of bounds.
“We did not break,” Avelar-Guerra said. “They really showed a lot of commitment and strength.”
Winning the second set showed the Raiders that they could win the match, Avelar-Guerra said.
Vidal’s kill after a long rally put the Cardinals up 19-18 in the first set. Prior, to Vidal’s point, it was a back-and-forth between the two district foes.
The Cardinals would not relinquish the lead and won the first set with an Alana Roquette kill at the net.