By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — In suiting up nine players this season, Edinburg High coach Deanna Dominguez has come to remind her team that she isn’t too concerned about the quantity of players on her roster, but rather the quality.
She graduated two seniors and returned six from last year’s area-qualifying squad, but the Lady Bobcats have been able to sustain their momentum with several players filling a variety of roles. On the heels of winning the Donna ISD Tournament, Edinburg kept alive its winning streak, beating Edcouch-Elsa 25-11, 25-20, 25-19 on Tuesday.
Edinburg High, which improved to 9-0 on the season, had five players with at least nine kills in their first match since winning the Donna tournament on Saturday. Dezi Marmolejo, who was named the tournament’s MVP, led the way with nine kills, two blocks, one ace, 17 digs and 32 assists.
Teammate Marissa Arce had 11 kills, four blocks, one ace and eight digs. And Amber Reyes delivered 11 kills, one block, one ace and four digs.
“We have a really small team, so everyone’s getting some action,” Dominguez said.
After going 6-0 in last week’s tournament, the Lady Bobcats opened the first match Tuesday leading 7-2 on a kill from Arce, courtesy of Marmolejo, before closing out the set on a 7-1 run.
Edcouch-Elsa topped a 6-0 run on Ale Martinez’s back-row kill to come to within 20-18 in Game 2. But after the Lady Yellowjackets missed a dig to give Edinburg a 24-20 lead, Marmolejo fed Tianna Howard (nine kills, five blocks, three digs) to take a 2-0 advantage.
Though Edinburg has put together impressive individual statistics, Dominguez said, their biggest test will be in how the team comes together.
“You see moments of greatness, and then there’s some lag,” Dominguez said. “But I think most teams go through that.”
With players shuffling through multiple positions, the Lady Bobcats are still finding their way on the court. Dominguez said eventually she hopes their timing and spacing on the court helps them put away balls. She joked that she has asked Edcouch-Elsa coach Ofelia Griffith to divulge her secrets on the defensive end, considering the Lady Yellowjackets often are able to extend possessions.
“You think it’s going down, and somehow, someway they find a way to get it over,” Dominguez said. “If you’re sleeping on the job, they’re going to get after you.”
Those instances occurred during Game 3 on Tuesday, when Edcouch-Elsa maintained a lead or at least tied until it was 9-9. That’s when the Lady Yellowjackets either hit the ball too deep or fell short of getting over the net, allowing Edinburg High to go up 11-9 before Arce’s kill.
Though E-E never led after that, it caught Edinburg at 15- and 17-all. E-E largely struggled to score from there, as it had in stretches throughout the match, with balls either hitting the net or failing to stay in play.
Marmolejo, the District 31-6A Co-MVP in 2015, made things even more challenging for E-E on Tuesday in the manner in which she directed the offense.
Teammate Maria Reyes, who is playing in her first varsity season, also made her mark in their serve-receive attack. She finished with 10 digs and two aces.
“Defensively, we’re good,” Marmolejo said. “We’ve come a long way. We’ve lost two girls, but I think we’re still a strong group and we could go far with this group.”