EDINBURG — Edinburg High proved that the kids are all right in a battle between two storied volleyball programs in the midst of a youthful transition period. The Bobcats took down the Sharyland High Rattlers 12-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-18 on Tuesday in Edinburg.
The lone senior who played major minutes on last season’s team, Renee Ponce, said Edinburg High’s young group is susceptible to early jitters.
“Our team has a lot of new players this year, like a lot, and they’re still really scared a little bit,” Ponce said. “Once we play the first game and they get out of their comfort zone, they start swinging and we start playing as a team.”
Ponce led the team with 20 assists, 15 kills, eight aces and tied for the team lead with 15 digs. She also led the team through a first set that was full of defensive errors and miscommunication.
Veteran coach Deanna Dominguez is glad to have the high volleyball IQ of Ponce as an extra set of eyes and ears.
“Renee has been very good about encouraging them, and I’m not going to lie, she’ll get after them, too, but it’s like a little coach on the floor,” Dominguez said. “If I’m not yelling it, she’s right there picking up where I left off.”
Dominguez is working out the wrinkles of her new roster while also dealing with a slew of unavoidable barriers.
“The mistakes have been ever-present, and we have not necessarily had a set lineup,” Dominguez said. “We’ve had kids that were sick or injured or not cleared through UIL, so we’ve been mixing things up. On top of that, we don’t have a lot of experience. Everyone on the bench or in the game was either JV players or with us on varsity but didn’t play much.”
Junior libero Vianney Trevino had 14 digs as the Bobcats picked up their defensive play and neutralized Rattlers hitters. Marissa Jones and Tristen Maddox were impact players early for Sharyland but fizzled as the match progressed.
The second set started hot for Edinburg, with the Bobcats jumping out to a 5-1 lead, but they had to claw back to overtake Sharyland in the 20s. The play of the match came when the Rattlers’ Aydee Hinojosa kicked a ball to keep it alive and her team won the point but dropped the set.
Edinburg finally put it all together in the third and fourth games with comfortable wins, including an exclamation point by Ponce on the winning point.
Senior transfer Bailey Buckner, who comes from San Antonio Taft, made her presence felt from the serving line. She had eight kills and six aces for the Bobcats.
“I’m a mediocre server,” Buckner said. “I’m not really that good at serving, but today it just came in handy.”
The former libero is learning a new position and jelling with her new teammates.
“It’s very new for me to play front row,” Buckner said. “It’s very new to me, but I love the team. Everyone gets along well, and we’re trying to find chemistry.”