BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — As Edinburg North senior Natalie Rodriguez pounded another ball through the Weslaco High defense, she roared and pumped her fists as the point extended the Cougars’ already large lead.
After the crowd eruption, which matched the intensity of Rodriguez’s celebration, the Cougars’ bench started chanting “DII, DII, DII.”
Rodriguez is a Texas A&M-Kingsville commit, and the chant was an ode to her future at the NCAA Division II school.
The Cougars (26-15, 9-3) used defense early, Rodriguez caught fire in the second set, and North swept Weslaco High away for a shot for the district title, 25-15, 25-12, 25-9, on Tuesday night at Edinburg North High School.
“She’s always been our leader,” North coach Raul McCallum said of Rodriguez, who had 25 kills and 15 digs. “She leads in sets, kills, sometimes even digs. Sometimes in our huddles, she’s in charge. (She is) just an overall great player. She’s a great leader.”
Tiebreakers were abound with three teams tied for first in District 31-6A. Edinburg High earned the top spot, North’s win vaulted the Cougars to the second spot, and Vela takes the third seed. The Panthers’ loss drops them to the fourth seed.
“This win felt incredible,” Rodriguez said. “Especially to do it with the girls. They are the ones that bring me up; I do my best for them. They are the reason why I play.”
The game started with the Cougars defense.
“That is one of the things we have always stressed, you ‘d’ up first,” McCallum said. “And then from there, if we can dig them, and we attack, it will be hard for them to dig us. I just told them ‘d’ up, get big, and let’s pound it.”
There wasn’t a ball hit that sophomore libero Evana Ramos couldn’t get to.
“Evana is great,” McCallum said. “She reads the ball very well. She talks, she communicates, she rotates, she sets. Whenever our setters get the dig, she’s in charge of getting the second ball, kind of like what they do at the college level. It’s great. She’s just our little bugs bunny.”
Ramos had 35 digs, 3 assists and 4 aces.
“It is hard,” Ramos said. “It takes a lot of training, but it’s all worth it for nights like tonight.”
Senior setter Jessica Dreyer played in here second game since returning from a back injury. The Cougars are glad to have her back and healthy, and she couldn’t wait to make an impact.
“This win felt really awesome considering we are not fourth,” Dreyer said with a laugh of relief. “Not being able to play, and then coming back, and then us winning like this, with this high of a score, kind of really brought our energy up. We have worked really hard for this, and I think we deserved it. We wanted this win more than the other team tonight.”
Dreyer contributed 10 assists, 10 digs and 2 aces. During her absence, some of the auxiliary players were given extended playing time, and as Dreyer has worked her way back to full-match health, the depth has been a boon.
“We knew they are going to key on Nat, and we have always said everybody has to step up,” McCallum said. “We have some juniors that have come up, we put them in there. We sat our middle down for the second set. One of our other girls stepped in, and it was like nothing changed, we didn’t miss a beat. We practice that, if somebody is injured, you are going to come in and see what you can do.”
Dreyer has seen just how important depth is over her career at North, so even when she is exhausted and on the bench, she gives everything she has left to cheer on her teammates.
“We try to cheer after every point, because we want to keep that energy and momentum,” Dreyer said. “Although we are supposed to forget the last point, and only focus on the current point. When we can give our team even a little bit more energy, it makes a difference. Cheering brings us all together and makes us work as one.”
Kelsey Limas, who filled in while Dreyer was out, had 16 assists and 6 digs. Drina Garza added 10 kills and 5 digs.
When the DII chant rang through Edinburg North’s gym, one thing was on full display: team unity. North has been through struggle after struggle, with coaching changes, players transferring out and disappointing seasons. The win on Tuesday felt like a culmination of everything the Cougars have had to overcome, and how much it has improved the players that were there throughout.
“I think the difference this year is bonding,” Rodriguez said. “We have gotten really close in the little bit of time we have been together. A few people left here and there, but what we have is what brought us together. Because we are very close now, in the practices we make jokes, we just have fun with each other.”
Tuesday was a glimpse of what the newly united Cougars will bring to the playoffs.
“We came out with a mindset that we were going to win, but we also wanted to have fun,” Ramos said. “It wasn’t so much about winning tonight; it was about being a team. I think we really proved ourselves as a team. We worked really well together. We picked each other up, and that is what helped us win tonight.”