By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — No more sharing.
The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons have been district co-champions in volleyball with Brownsville Veterans Memorial the last two seasons, but no longer.
The Lady Falcons, ranked No. 2 in the Rio Grande Valley, clinched the outright District 32-6A championship with a 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21 victory against the No. 6 Lady Chargers on Saturday at the Los Fresnos gym.
“I don’t really want to be selfish, but it’s our senior year so we’ve got to take it all (for ourselves),” Lady Falcons middle blocker Joseline Caraveo said of capturing the 32-6A title. “We wanted it so bad and we got it.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” added Caraveo, one of the team’s standout senior players. “I think it means we’re a better team this season than the years before when we shared the district title.
“It’s always a good match against Brownsville Veterans. A match like this one helps both teams get better and get ready for the playoffs. We play for God, and whatever happens, we trust in Him.”
Really, the only drama left now in the 32-6A race is whether the Lady Falcons (36-8, 13-0 district) can finish with a perfect conference record. Their final district match is at third-place Hanna (26-12, 10-3) on Tuesday.
Los Fresnos, Brownsville Veterans and Hanna already have clinched playoffs spots. San Benito (7-6) secured 32-6A’s fourth-place postseason berth Saturday with a 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 win at Harlingen South. The playoffs start Nov. 2.
“Our team was ready to play today,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “I told the girls, ‘This is what it’s going to be like in the playoffs.’ Brownsville Veterans just kept hitting the ball at us, and they didn’t give up. Their serving is amazing, and they just kept pounding the ball.
“I think being outright district champions is going to help us going into the playoffs,” Woods added. “The girls know there’s going to be a lot of tough teams ahead, and we have to come out and play every point for what it’s worth. That’s what I told the girls. We just need to focus on one match at a time, one point at a time.”
Brownsville Veterans (28-12, 11-2) will close out district Tuesday at home against Lopez.
The Lady Chargers are the only team in 32-6A that has taken Los Fresnos beyond three games this season. They also did it Sept. 29 during the first round of district in Brownsville when the Lady Falcons prevailed 25-21, 25-17, 20-25, 25-15.
“(Even though we lost,) a match like this one is good for us,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said. “Los Fresnos is just so strong hitting-wise. I felt we struggled with our blocking. It’s hard for our girls because we were so close. They tasted it. We weren’t even supposed to be in this position (of challenging for the district title) to begin with (as we have some new players this season). Hopefully a match like this helps us for the playoffs and for the future.”
After losing the first game 25-20 and winning the second 25-23, the Lady Chargers saw their momentum slip away in dropping the third set 25-16. But the Lady Chargers put up quite a battle during the fourth game, especially down the stretch as they pulled to within one point, 22-21, of Los Fresnos’ lead when the Lady Falcons hit the ball long.
From there, a pair of hitting errors, one long and another into the net, by the Lady Chargers allowed Los Fresnos to take a 24-21 advantage, and the Lady Falcons closed out the game and match with a decisive kill by Jackie Kingsbury.
Sam Ibarra, Caraveo and Kingsbury finished with 15, 14 and 13 kills, respectively, for the Lady Falcons. Sam Ibarra and Caraveo each had 10 blocks, and Kingsbury had 27 digs. Also for Los Fresnos, Isis Delgado and Giselle Ibarra finished with 24 and 20 digs, respectively, and Miranda Gonzales added 13 digs with 38 assists and four blocks. Giselle Ibarra also had four kills and four blocks, and Cassie Parra contributed three blocks and two kills.
Sarah Sandoval led Brownsville Veterans with 16 kills, 16 digs and three aces. Ashley Tumlinson added 10 kills, and Cassandra Valdez contributed 41 assists and 10 digs.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.