Hanna and Rivera played a volleyball match worthy of going five games.
It was the District 32-6A opener for both teams Tuesday night at the Rivera gym.
The momentum went back and forth throughout the match as the Lady Golden Eagles rallied and came on strong at the end to prevail 25-21, 9-25, 11-25, 25-19, 15-12.
Hanna was swept by Rivera in district last year as the Lady Raiders captured the 32-6A title with a 14-0 record. That was one of the reasons winning Tuesday’s district opener on Rivera’s court felt so satisfying for the Hanna players, coaches and fans.
“This feels great,” Lady Eagles coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “I’m just overwhelmed right now because of the way the match went, but it was kind of like our season has been going. It’s been a roller coaster season with ups and downs.
“It’s horrible for a coach (with all the stress a season like that brings),” Hagemann added. “I think I’ve already put on 10 extra pounds. We started well in this match (winning 25-21), and then we completely lost track of things (and lost 25-9 and 25-11).
“Things just spiraled down (in the second and third games) and everyone was not pulling their weight all of a sudden. We talked to the girls (during a timeout) and asked them, ‘Are we going to be a one-set (winning) team or a three-set team (and take the match)?’ They decided to be a three-set team.”
During the fifth game, Hanna raced to a 5-0 advantage before Rivera narrowed the lead to 9-7, 11-8 and 13-11. Still, the Lady Raiders could not take the lead and wound up losing the final point of the fifth game and the match, 15-12, by hitting the ball into the net.
For Hanna, Tabitha Fernandez had 20 assists and 10 digs, Odalys Gonzalez had 18 kills and four blocks, Aniel Aguero had 14 assists, and Vivian Izaguirre had six kills. Also for Hanna, Angelina Castillo had 14 digs, and Nataly Davila had six kills and four blocks.
“Rivera is always a good team to play,” Hagemann said. “Every win you get against them is pretty tough.”
Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra huddled with her players after the match and told them they lost their aggressiveness after winning the second and third games decisively.
“It was a good match, but I was just telling my girls they played too scared in the fourth game,” Avelar-Guerra said. “They started playing too safe and it came back to bite them. If they would have just played all-out like they did in the second and third games, I think we would have won, but they played like they were nervous, and we wound up losing.
“The girls played well in the last game, and it was a good match (overall), but unfortunately, we just didn’t do enough to win,” the Rivera coach added.
For Rivera, Kenya Ibarra had eight kills, six blocks and two aces. Also for the Lady Raiders, Kourtney Shears had 12 kills, 13 digs, 25 assists and seven aces, and Maddie Blanco added 33 digs and three aces.
District 32-6A competition continues at noon Saturday. Hanna is at home against Harlingen High and Rivera travels to Los Fresnos.