By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
With a little more than one week remaining before District 32-6A volleyball action begins, it appears Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Los Fresnos once again could be the front-runners to contend against for conference supremacy.
The Lady Chargers (18-8) and Lady Falcons (18-9), co-champions last season in District 32-5A, captured confidence-boosting, non-district victories over highly regarded opponents on Tuesday as they continued their preparations for the arrival of 32-6A competition Sept. 13.
Playing at home, Brownsville Veterans triumphed over McAllen High 25-20, 25-23, 25-20, and Los Fresnos prevailed at Mission Veterans Memorial 20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 26-24, handing the Lady Patriots their first regular-season loss to a Rio Grande Valley team since 2012.
McHi eliminated Brownsville Veterans in the first round of the playoffs one year ago, so it was a gratifying homecourt victory for the Lady Chargers, who have ambitions of enjoying a better finish in the postseason in 2014.
“It’s all my yelling,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said with a laugh, explaining why the team is playing so well. “(Coaches) do a lot of reminding about what to do, and these girls are really listening and taking it in, so I have a great group of girls.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match against McHi, and for us to sweep them, I’m really excited about that,” Mares added. “Sometimes my team is a little up and down, but we were steady with more consistent play in this match against McHi, which is what we want.
“I really feel that we have been progressing since the first tournament of the season. I don’t know if we’re ready yet (for district), because I believe that any one team is never ever truly (and completely) ready, but I think we’re definitely getting there.”
Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said improved blocking was an important factor in her team’s win over Mission Veterans.
“Our blocking game came through,” she said. “We had been missing a lot of blocks before. If we could just execute our blocks, I felt we’d be all right.
“After the first game, we did better with our serving, and that was important, too,” Woods added. “We missed six serves in the first game, and otherwise we might have won that game as well.
“We knew Mission Veterans is one of the top 5A schools in the Valley and that we needed to play them to help prepare us for our district. It was a great win.”
Of Los Fresnos’ nine losses, four have come against McAllen Rowe, one to McHi and four at a tournament in San Antonio.
The Lady Falcons are open Saturday and will play a tri-match next Tuesday at Hidalgo that also involves PSJA North. Brownsville Veterans is at Rowe on Saturday.
NEW FRONTIER
Brownsville IDEA Frontier’s volleyball season is well under way.
Frontier is coached by former Lopez standout Belinda Carreon, who also played for the Scorpions at what was then the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.
The Lady Chargers took a 2-5 record into Tuesday’s match at Donna IDEA. They play host to San Perlita on Saturday. Home matches are played on the IDEA Frontier campus.
“This year we scheduled matches with local schools out of our district and have found out not many of them know about our athletic program,” Carreon said. “We are happy that Brownsville coaches are glad to host matches with us, and hopefully this means we will continue to play competitive volleyball.”
One of the team’s standout newcomers is sophomore setter Aubrey Valdez, a team captain.
“She is leading the team on the court and in spirit,” Carreon said of Valdez. “She has quickly adapted to our hitters and using our outsides to (help) show their full potential.”
The other two team captains are Shanelle Flores and Michaela Elbert. Carreon describes them as “all-around standouts that are leading on the scoreboard.”
“Shanelle is a girl that shows so much passion for the sport and for her team,” the coach said. “She believes in her team, and the girls respond to her energy.
“Michaela can hit almost everything,” Carreon added. “She has improved so much and is working really well with our setter. She played middle for us last year, but is really helping the team (now) as an outside (hitter).”
Two other important contributors are Lizbeth Longoria and Rosslyn Castro.
“Rosslyn is always talking to the girls in games and in practice,” Carreon said. “I tell my team there is always something to be said, whether you’re on the court or not.
“As a libero and first-time varsity player, Lizbeth is showing great discipline and is taking control of our defense,” Carreon added. “She is reliable and a hard worker.”