NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Edinburg High senior setter Renee Ponce wears her heart on her sleeve. Whether her team is leading or trailing, she’s almost always in the middle of the action and always giving her teammates a stern look, instructions or a boost, if needed.
So calling Tuesday’s five-set, come-from-behind win over district-leading Edinburg Vela “emotional” would be a bit of an understatement. The Bobcats wouldn’t be refused in the 20-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-11 victory over their crosstown rivals.
“I’m at a loss for words right now,” Ponce said while tearing up. “I really do love my team. We lost against Edinburg North, but I still love them. After that, it just brought us closer together. We really can put the ball down when we want to if we just work as a team.”
For two sets, the Bobcats seemingly couldn’t catch a break, and their mistakes appeared to be leading to a loss. The visiting SaberCats were the aggressors early thanks to the consistent hitting from Glenys Maldonado, Miranda Negrete, Izabella Rodriguez and company.
“We knew they had great outside hitters, and together they play very well,” Edinburg High coach Deanna Dominguez said after the win. “(Vela) Coach (Araceli) Ortega has been doing this for a long time. She’s a very experienced coach and she always finds a way, so we knew the task at hand.”
As the match went on, the points were more difficult to come by for Vela. Freshman libero Adrianna Guerra as well as Ponce (51 digs) and Hannah Vega (39 digs) were key on defense to stop quick scores.
“Our libero is a freshman, so I tell her, ‘Just don’t be scared of anything when you’re back row. You’re unstoppable. Nothing hits the floor,’” Ponce said. “We don’t like to have dropped balls or anything.”
On offense, Victoria Fuentes led the way. The junior who towers over 6 feet scored in multiple ways to reach 36 kills. In early sets, she was blocking straight down. Later in the match, she began to find openings in the SaberCats defense either for soft, placed hits or spikes that displayed raw strength.
Fuentes said attitude was key in the huddle before the third set, even though the team was down two games to none.
“If I get blocked, my motto is, ‘Get down seven, get back up eight,’” Fuentes said. “So, I would tell them, ‘Don’t get it in your mind. Just get back up.’ Always be positive. That’s the big thing — to stay positive.”
She became a force as the match went on, adding seven blocks, seven digs and five aces.
“It feels amazing,” Fuentes said. “My mom is out here today. I couldn’t have done it without her. I love her so much.”
“A big factor is our servicing and our passes,” Dominguez said. “We want to be able to find her, and if we cannot get our passes there, it’s like, ‘How are you going to score a touchdown in football if you can’t get your ball to your receiver?’”
Bailey Buckner had nine kills and 17 digs. Ponce filled the stat sheet with nine kills, 51 digs and 50 assists.
Dominguez said Ponce can be intense on the court, but the energy comes from a good place.
“I think the girls respect that she contributes a lot of time to the game of volleyball,” Dominguez said. “Don’t get me wrong. They do get hurt feelings when they get told anything by someone that’s their same age. They’re like sisters. You don’t want your older sister telling you anything. Just like in life, you have to learn how to accept criticism and direction, and we also need to know how to give that.”
The senior is a leader with her play on the court, with her guidance and with her emotional investment to her team.
“Each time I get mad at someone, I say, ‘I love you so much… but get the ball,’” Ponce said. “We tell each other all this stuff. We give each other hugs when we’re on the court. We all pray. We all put it in God’s hands all the time. We’re a really close team this year, whether we argue or not.”
Vela drops into a tie for the district lead at 4-1, while Edinburg High improves to 3-2.