By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — With so many changes in momentum during Saturday’s District 32-6A volleyball match between Hanna and Harlingen High at the Lady Cardinals’ gym, it was difficult to tell until the very end just which team would come out the winner.
Hanna seized the moment and surged ahead behind the play of its big hitters at the net during the fifth game to prevail 19-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 15-9.
“It was a very close match,” Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “I think the Lady Cardinals played excellent. We didn’t have a lot of teamwork on the court in the first three and a half games, and we were able to put it together in the fourth and fifth games as a team, I think, and that was great. It was a great feeling to see our players play together like that.
“Both of the Harlingen schools play well at home,” Hagemann added. “We saw that when (Brownsville) Veterans (Memorial) played at Harlingen South (and needed five games to win last week). Those Harlingen teams are forces at home, and that was shown today, and of course, the Lady Cardinals are fighting for a playoff spot. They played with a lot of heart and a high energy level. They came out to beat us, and it took us a while to find our way in the match, but our girls came through.”
Third-place Hanna (23-12, 7-2 district) was coming off last Tuesday’s four-game victory at home against fourth-place San Benito (4-5). During the first round of district, the Lady Golden Eagles had five-game matches that they won against San Benito and Rivera. They had previously swept the Lady Cardinals in three games during the opening round of district.
The Lady Cardinals (3-6), still alive for the playoffs, were coming off last Tuesday’s five-game victory at Rivera (3-6).
Los Fresnos (9-0) and Brownsville Veterans (8-1), defending district co-champions, are the top two teams in the 32-6A standings.
“Yes, it was a very close match,” Lady Cardinals coach Jennifer Martinez said. “We just need to finish. We lost our focus today. Our girls fight hard, but it’s a mental game that we play. But we’re all right. We’re going to refocus and keep going. There’s a lot of volleyball left, and we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re going to do whatever it takes to get into the playoffs.”
The Lady Cardinals can do a lot toward helping themselves get to the postseason by winning when they play Tuesday at San Benito. Hanna also has an important match coming up Tuesday as the Lady Eagles play host to Brownsville Veterans.
It was back and forth throughout the match Saturday between the Lady Eagles and Lady Cardinals.
Harlingen High fell behind 7-1 during the first game before battling back to tie it at 13, 14 and 16 en route to winning the opening set 25-19. There were nine ties during the second game, the last of which came at 13. From there, Hanna went on a 12-3 run to take the second game 25-16.
It was the same type of game during the third set, only in the Lady Cardinals’ favor. After the seventh and final tie of the third game at 12, the Lady Cardinals came alive and went on a 13-5 run to capture the set 25-17.
Things didn’t look too good for Hanna during the fourth game as the Lady Eagles trailed 11-4 and then 17-14, but they battled back to tie it at 20 and 21 before taking the lead for good at 22-21 on a tip by Sausha-Rae Brown. An emphatic kill by Pamela Ellis enabled Hanna to win the fourth game 25-23 and send the match to the deciding fifth set.
Thanks to strong play at the net early on, Hanna built a 10-4 lead during the fifth game. The Lady Eagles held off Harlingen High’s attempt to rally and prevailed 15-9 to take the match when the Lady Cardinals hit into the net on the final point, moments after Hanna had made it 14-9 on a block by Brown.
Ellis finished with 13 kills, five blocks and 17 digs for Hanna. Brown added 12 kills and four blocks, Flora Herrera contributed six kills and three blocks, and Lauren Webb recorded three kills and two blocks.
Also for Hanna, Bianca Olivares and Gianna Muniz each had 20 assists. Jenny Guerrero, Yelitza Barrientos and Julie Soto contributed 15, 12 and 10 digs, respectively.
Martinez said standouts for the Lady Cardinals included Addison Dickey, Samantha Quilantan and Jenny Nieto.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.