LA FERIA — Railee Pollock’s shot down the line snuck in to give the La Feria Lionettes a five-set, 17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13 District 32-4A victory Tuesday.
The Grullla Gators tied the decisive set at 13 after both teams jostled for the win. Pollock’s shot hit the sweet spot to send the Lionettes and the fans into a frenzy.
“We persevered,” La Feria coach Rebea Fraga said. “Volleyball could be such a rollercoaster, we had some ups and downs. We were just very fortunate to come out with a win.”
Grulla came out in the fourth set motivated after dropping the second and third sets. The Gators raced out to a 19-7 lead. With La Feria on the verge of losing the set down 24-8, the Lionettes mounted a comeback that fell short at 25-17.
“We dropped a five set match a week ago to Zapata,” Fraga said. “That kind of left a bitter taste in our mouth, I think the girls did not want to see that happen again. Even though we dug ourselves into a huge hole in that fourth set, we started fighting back when they were at set point.”
“I think that carried over into the fifth set. We kept our emotions in check and came out with the win.”
The second and third sets were tense affairs. Grulla won two points, followed by La Feria responding with two points. The back-and-forth was common in both sets.
It looked like Grulla would win the second set after going up 22-18, but the Lionettes rallied. Mariah Patlan scored an easy point at the net, and great serves by Cassandra Garza and Alena Benjamin finished off the Gators with an uncontested tip at the net to win the set.
La Feria gained the momentum during the third set. The Lionettes controlled the set, and again Benjamin won the set at the net.
Grulla won the first set with relative ease. The Gators built a comfortable 23-14 lead. Setter Diany Lopez found Martinez often in the middle for kills. Grulla won the set 25-17 after a La Feria miscue.
La Feria is now 2-1 in district, while Grulla is 1-2.