EDINBURG — Edinburg High head volleyball coach Deanna Dominguez describes middle hitter/blocker Jazmin Cuellar as “a major presence.”
She was more of an explosive force Tuesday against city rival Edinburg Vela. With a jaw-dropping dominant performance, Cuellar, a 5-foot-10 junior, powered the Bobcats to a sweep over the Sabercats 25-23, 25-18, 25-12 at the Edinburg High gymnasium. The win improved Edinburg to 5-2 in District 31-6A, while Vela dropped to 4-3.
The front-row duo of Cuellar and Natalie Hernandez, The Monitor’s 2019 All-Area Volleyball Newcomer of the Year, turned an error-filled and slowly-played first set into a show of sheer power in the second and third sets. With that duo in the front row and libero Hannah Vega serving, the Bobcats compiled 21 of the team’s 50 points over the final two sets. That included a third set run of 12 straight Edinburg High points to turn a 5-1 deficit into a 13-5 advantage, a lead that was never threatened as Edinburg finished out the sweep.
“We’re a constant work in progress because of our situation,” Dominguez said, referring to a COVID-shortened season where teams played no tournaments and at most two non-district matches before jumping in head first with district play. “We’ve flipped around things and they work very well together. It’s finally coming around. It hasn’t been like that all the time.”
During the massive third-set run, Cuellar contributed three explosive kills and a solo stuff block. Vela sent free balls over the net and Edinburg was regularly on the attack. In the second set, that same rotation had runs of 7-0 and 4-0 and the Hernandez-Cuellar duo combined for four kills and a block during that span. It could have been more if not for the sprawling saves of Edinburg Vela libero Maria Sanchez who, at one point, dug three straight attacks to give Vela an opportunity to attack, something the Sabercats couldn’t do enough of to keep them in the match.
“Jazmin is a force to be reckoned with, and I keep telling her that she has a major presence,” Dominguez said. “She’s strong both offensively and defensively and has great hands. We actually tried her out to use her as a setter at one point even.”
Cuellar finished with a game-high 17 kills and five blocks while Hernandez contributed seven kills and a pair of blocks. Emily Carranco also had a strong game at the net with five kills and eight blocks.
“In the beginning we had a little bit of nerves because this is a big rival game, but we got more confident after the first game because we beat them and it never stopped,” Cuellar said. “I was just trying to see what I could do with the ball and where I could put it, just trying to be smart.
“My perspective is to just swing, swing, swing — don’t stop. Never stop swinging even if you make a mistake. Just try to learn from it and keep swinging.”
The first set was tied at 12 when Vela’s middle hitter/blocker Fey Vasquez, who was off to a strong start offensively and was also a presence defensively, injured what looked to be her right ankle and came out of the match. She didn’t return.
Edinburg High opens the second round of district play Friday against Edinburg North. The Cougars defeated the Bobcats in the first round and are tied with Mission High atop the District 32-6A standings. Vela is scheduled to host PSJA High on Friday.
The SaberCats were supposed to play Tuesday’s game at home but they switched it to Edinburg amid COVID-19 concerns at Edinburg Vela.