EDINBURG — In just about every match this year, Edinburg High has had to make some type of lineup change.
The lack of stability has been a result of injuries, reducing the Lady Bobcats’ roster to eight players, even after promoting two from their junior varsity squad. But Edinburg High has hardly let it reflect in its performance on the court this season.
After beating Edinburg North 25-8, 25-22, 25-10 on Tuesday, the Lady Bobcats assured themselves second place in the District 31-6A standings with only two matches remaining — a noteworthy accomplishment, despite their district title aspirations, given their journey this year.
“This whole season we’ve faced a lot of adversity, and we’ve just been rolling with it,” Edinburg High coach Deanna Dominguez said. “That’s just the way life is. Sometimes, unfortunately, things happen. But we’ve had people stepping up and filling roles.
“I’m just so proud that we’ve been able to be successful, despite who’s in there.”
At 31-8 overall and 10-2 in district, the Lady Bobcats now will wait to see how seeding pans out in District 32-6A to learn their first-round opponent. They’ve won four straight matches, even with outside hitter Maria Reyes (knee) out. Edinburg has called upon players like Vianney Treviño, who started the year on JV, to help fill the void.
Treviño recorded nine digs Tuesday. Tianna Howard notched 24 kills, five blocks, six digs and one assist. Dezi Marmolejo contributed eight kills, three aces, 30 assists and 26 digs. And Marissa Arce had four kills, two assists and 18 digs.
“It’s been tough (with injuries this year),” said Elizabeth Olivarez, who posted one kill, three aces, 33 digs and one assist. “But I think people we put in positions to fill in are owning it and feeling really comfortable. … I think it proves we’re really committed and determined to do our best.
“We’re a great group of girls, and we’re playing for each other.”
Outside of their two losses to Edinburg Vela, the Lady Bobcats have been unbeaten in district this year. They entered the week ranked No. 5 by latest RGVSports.com, behind McAllen Memorial, McAllen High, Edinburg Vela and Mission Veterans Memorial.
Also sorting through injuries this year has been Edinburg North (10-23, 6-6), which entered the year with only player who had previous varsity experience. The Lady Cougars graduated 10 seniors in 2015 and find themselves a fringe playoff team.
After a blowout loss in Game 1, Edinburg North was much more competitive, jumping ahead 5-3 and forging ties at 9 and 17 before giving up two straight points to Edinburg High. Following a timeout, Marmolejo found Howard for a kill twice before pulling away.
“Things have changed a bit,” said Edinburg North coach Adrian Cavazos, whose team finished 32-12 overall, 11-1 in district, in 2015 en route to the second round of the playoffs. “We just don’t have the offense that we’ve had in the past. The defense has played well but we just couldn’t convert those to points.”