By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — Hanna volleyball coach Ansgar Hagemann and the Lady Eagles know what they have in Odalys Gonzalez – one of the most dominant middle blockers in the Rio Grande Valley.
What Hanna intends to sort out during the Volley at the Beach tournament is how to fill out the rest of the squad around their top playmaker.
“Having Odalys on our team is very helpful,” Hagemann said. “She’s a player that can decide a match. If she goes on a run, she’s almost unstoppable. But we want to build a team that can support her. We want to get more kills as a team, and not be dependent on one player.”
The Lady Eagles rebounded after dropping their first pool play game against PSJA Southwest (11-25, 20-25) to top Santa Rosa (25-23, 25-20).
“We enjoyed the day,” Hagemann said. “But we want to play a different game. So we’re still working on that. We have a brand new varsity squad, and we’re going to iron out some wrinkles over the next couple weeks.”
In order to squeak by the Lady Warriors in the first game, Hanna needed a star performance from its best player. Gonzalez sparked her team to rally back from a 17-11 deficit to take an 18-17 lead in the first game. The Lady Eagles opened up a 16-3 lead in the second game to cap their second pool play match.
Hanna libero Rebekah Schlatter made a couple of key digs that led to kills by Gonzalez and outside hitter Joanna Garza.
Against Rio Hondo in its third match, Hanna went up 16-8 in the first game and did not surrender its lead. But the Lady Bobcats gave the Lady Eagles one of their toughest games of the day, as Hanna hung on for a 25-22 win to seal the match.
Rio Hondo took its first lead in the back end of the tight contest at 11-10. The teams traded points, and the Lady Bobcats went up 21-19 after two straight Hanna errors were slammed into the net. The Lady Eagles surged ahead thanks to the strong play of Garza and Gonzalez, and Esmer Fuentes delivered a service ace to clinch the victory in straight sets for Hanna.
“We want to have the whole team on the move,” Hagemann said. “That’s what we’re working on. Single players are stepping in in moments, but we really want the whole team to do that… That’s the ultimate goal.”
Also on Thursday, Lopez, which earned wins over Weslaco East (25-20, 25-22), Monte Alto (25-11, 25-11), and Port Isabel (25-9, 25-16) and PSJA Southwest were the only teams to emerge undefeated from the day’s games.