HARLINGEN — Even while they were staring a sweep in the face, the Harlingen Lady Cardinals volleyball team managed to make the Brownsville Lady Chargers sweat.
After gaining sizeable leads in all three games, the Lady Chargers had to fight off Lady Cardinals’ rallies to come out with the sweep, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19, Saturday afternoon at Harlingen High School.
The Lady Chargers led by at least seven points in every set only to see Harlingen pick up momentum and get within striking distance.
For the Lady Chargers, it was proof that District 32-6A is aware of their now 5-0 mark in league play and cannot take their foot off the gas.
”It’s a problem we’ve been having; I think the girls lay back and kind of relax too much. We got the sweep and that’s good, but we also got big leads and let them come back,” Veterans head coach Elizabeth Mares said. “I tell the girls that everyone is out to get them and that they cannot stay on their heels; they need to be on their toes all the time. I feel that we’ve struggled with that the last two games.”
Brownsville Vets came out aggressive from the start and got off to a quick 6-1 lead, forcing a timeout from Harlingen head coach Jennifer Martinez.
Harlingen regrouped following the timeout, but the Chargers would surge to grab an 18-11 lead.
According to Mares, the Lady Chargers’ communication was big Saturday.
“Yesterday we worked a lot on communication, but I also told them to go out there and have fun, communicate; just have fun with each other,” Mares said. “I think that was the reason for our fast starts.”
In that first set, however, Harlingen fought back with a 9-3 run to make the score 21-20, but would drop the game 25-23.
The second and third games were much of the same.
The Lady Chargers jumped out to an 8-0 lead, only to find themselves in a 16-15 game before they recovered for the closeout in the second and then led by just four late in the third after building an 18-8 cushion.
Leading the Lady Charger attack was Mariza Cardenas with 11 kills, two digs and three blocks, while Sarah Sandoval added 10 kills.
For Harlingen, Annabell Ricardo posted four kills, two aces and four blocks, while teammate Jenny Nieto recorded 11 digs.