By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Rivera Lady Raiders used their volleyball smarts and for the most part displayed sound fundamentals along with disciplined teamwork to defeat a taller Mercedes team 25-22, 25-14, 25-15 in a non-district match Tuesday at Rivera.
It was a solid preparation test, especially for the Lady Raiders, as both teams begin district play Saturday. Rivera will play host to Harlingen High as District 32-6A commences, and Mercedes will be at home against Pace to start District 32-5A action.
“It felt good to win because we hadn’t won here at home for the past two matches,” said Rivera senior Daniela Carrion, who provided steady play, particularly in the back row along with libero Jenny Cardenas, as the Lady Raiders fended off some strong hitting and attempts at kills by the Lady Tigers. “Winning tonight was a boost to our confidence and gives us a chance to go into district on the right foot, so I’m happy with the win. The girls played well.
“It was a good practice for us going into district,” Carrion added. “We need to be more precise (with our placement of the ball) since we’re not a tall team like most of the other teams in our district. We need to work on our precision, our accuracy and hitting our spots, and this match helped us improve on that.”
The Lady Raiders were led at the net by Stephanie Ramirez, another senior standout along with Carrion, who finished with 11 kills, 11 blocks and four digs. Carrion had 14 digs, eight kills and served three aces.
Also for Rivera, Cardenas recorded eight digs and four kills, and teammate Stephanie Garza, a freshman, contributed four kills.
“My two seniors (Ramirez and Carrion) did an awesome job,” Rivera coach Liz Avelar-Guerra said. “We’re kind of regrouping because we lost a couple of key players. (Monday), we practiced a lot on hitting, and we talked about not worrying so much about winning but more about trying to improve ourselves (as players) individually and as a team, and to just work on improving our game, playing together and not panicking.
“With a young team (like ours), a lot of times the girls start panicking and they lose their composure on the court,” Avelar-Guerra added. “I was trying to stay calm tonight and trying to keep them calm and telling them to remember what we talked about (Monday). It worked because we played well as a team. The two seniors really stepped up and led us well.
“The girls remained calm, played their game and played as a team, and I think that made a big difference.”
To their credit, the Lady Raiders never let the visitors hold the lead except for 1-0 advantages during the first and third games. During each game, Rivera built relatively comfortable leads and didn’t surrender them at any point, even when the Lady Tigers pulled within two or three points, such as 23-21 in the opening game.
Gaby Guerrero and Mere Guevara, two of Mercedes’ taller front-line players, were standouts for the Lady Tigers, who are projected to be among the favorites in the 32-5A race.