By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — Perhaps Hanna learned a hard lesson or two early in the tournament.
The Lady Golden Eagles defeated Austin Ann Richards 25-17, 16-25, 15-7 to win their second straight Volley at the Beach tournament Saturday.
Ann Richards defeated Hanna in three games during pool play Thursday.
“We started off a little slow (in the tournament), our first game was against Ann Richards,” Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “So we had to learn a lesson I guess, but they are a tremendous team.”
Hanna started out strong, building a 19-4 lead before Ann Richards started to come back. They went on an 11-1 run to pull within 20-15. The Eagles responded with a 5-2 run down the stretch with a pair of kills by Flora Herrera and another by Pam Ellis to take Game 1.
“Already having played them and the loss helped the kids to put it together,” Hagemann said. “(We) sped up and put it in a different gear to try to defeat them.”
Ann Richards was more focused in Game 2. They stuck with the Eagles point-for-point and took a 10-7 lead before pushing it to 17-7 on the strength of three kills by Erin Lungwitz and four aces by Ally Reznicek. Hanna got within seven points with three kills and a block by Ellis, but didn’t catch up.
In Game 3, Hanna regrouped and sprinted out to a 6-2 lead. Ann Richards traded points with the Eagles for short time, but Hanna was too strong down the stretch and held off Ann Richards to claim the victory.
“Obviously we would have liked to have won, but they wanted it a little bit more,” Ann Richards coach Maura Cosgrove said. “They made less mistakes than us, and we couldn’t capitalize on our opportunities to score. We had a lot of miscommunications and unforced errors that stopped us. If we would have played to five games like regular varsity matches, then maybe, you never know … we waited too long in the first set to start playing.”
Ellis had 12 kills and three blocks, Herrera finished with six kills, and Gianna Muniz had nine assists and four kills for the Eagles.
Ann Richards didn’t feel it was overconfident after defeating Hanna earlier in the tournament.
“Beating them the first time was great,” Cosgrove said. “It let us know we could compete and stood a chance, but it didn’t work in our favor for whatever reason. That’s a great team, (Ellis) was phenomenal against us.”
Reznicek lead Ann Richards with six kills, and Lungwitz added five kills.
Hagemann said his team’s experience has helped them start the season strong.
“They’ve grown together,” he said. “We have four-year returners, some three-year returners. We have a big group of seniors with some experience, so sometimes that’s what helps.
“It’s always nice to win a tournament, obviously. All these tournaments should help bring the team together for the Sharyland tournament and for district.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.