BROWNSVILLE — Coming off of an emotional loss to cross-town rival Brownsville Pace, Brownsville Veterans needed a win against Edcouch-Elsa.
The situation looked dire after dropping the first two sets to the Yellowjackets. Heads down, the motivation was not there and the District 32-5A title looked to be slipping out of Brownsville Veterans’ hands, even though there is a second half of district matches still to be played.
The Chargers came back to beat the Yellowjackets in five sets 22-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-11, 15-7.
“The third, fourth and fifth is how they normally play,” Chargers head coach Sherry Hoskins said. “They were asleep for the first and second, but they came back, played and pushed for the win.”
A mental change made the difference, senior captain Elise Fourt said.
“This win was really important for us,” she said. “We just had a big loss against Pace, we just needed to bounce back and I felt that we did that.”
Brownsville Veterans fell in five sets to Brownsville Pace in a battle of undefeateds Tuesday. With Saturday’s win, the Chargers are still in the running for a district title along with the Vikings.
Brownsville Veterans is 8-1 in district, and Edcouch-Elsa is 6-3.
Chargers outside hitter Montserrat De Los Santos helped fuel the comeback during the third set. De Los Santos found her spots to give Brownsville Veterans the 21-20 lead in the set. Fourt finished off the set with a kill.
Fourt started strong in the fourth set with points at the net. Kassy Garcia fired in a kill, Paulina Ramirez fooled the Yellowjackets with fake setups, Tamar Lane scored at the net, Marifer Solis found holes in the defense and the back row threw their bodies at everything.
The Chargers were having fun and found themselves up 17-7. A Solis block and kill gave Brownsville Veterans the fourth set.
Both teams tussled early in the fifth. A Lane block tied the set at 6 and then Garcia put the Chargers up 7-6 by finding a spot in the defense.
“I am proud of how they were able to get themselves out of that hole,” Hoskins said. “They continued to push every single point and came out with a win.”
Vida Ybarra was her usual self for the Yellowjackets. The senior found spots in the defense with strong attacks. Her jump serves helped build a strong lead in the second set. The Yellowjackets built a 14-5 edge thanks to her serves in the second.