HARLINGEN — After a tough loss to crosstown rival Harlingen High on Saturday, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks volleyball squad was looking to avoid falling into an 0-2 District 32-6A hole on Tuesday.
However, the visiting Los Fresnos Lady Falcons, who have ruled the league as champions for the past several years, were determined to up their conference mark to 2-0.
That didn’t bode well for the Lady Hawks as Los Fresnos, led by senior striker Jackie Kingsbury’s 16 kills and 31 digs, were simply too much and walked away with a 25-16, 25-18, 25-23 victory.
But the win didn’t come easy as South fought every step of the way, which was something that didn’t go unnoticed by Lady Hawks head coach Jennifer Taliancich.
“They didn’t quit and that’s a good thing because sometimes they tend to be a little mentally weak and that’s something we’re working on the most on, and I’m glad to see that they are improving, and early in district, too,” she said.
After a quick first set that the Lady Falcons dominated 25-16, games 2 and 3 had a little bit of everything including hard hits, long rallies and plenty of action.
In the second set, the Lady Hawks found their rhythm and raced out to a 15-12 advantage. However, Kingsbury was a force to be reckoned with and behind her thundering shots that practically left dents in the hardwood, the Lady Falcons tied things up at 16 and never looked back.
With momentum on their side, the Lady Falcons came out in Game 3 and took a 10-5 lead. But South showed a tremendous resiliency that was typified by Cameron Del Angel, who blocked a roaring shot by Kingsbury for a point.
The resounding blow sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy and also seemed to ignite the Lady Hawks as they clawed their way back into the game and eventually tied things up at 20-20 and then took a slim 22-21 lead.
However, it just wasn’t enough as the Lady Falcons regained their composure and with the set tied at 23-all, hammered the next two points home for the game and match.
Afterward, Los Fresnos head coach Becky Woods appeared exhausted as she sat down to discuss her team’s victory.
“We’re a very young team, so to come in here and get this win means a lot,” she said. “It was pretty nerve wracking there in the third game. We should have done a few things differently and in the end we made the right adjustments, but we nearly missed the opportunity to close things out in three (games).