By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons claimed a share of the District 32-4A title with a 25-16, 18-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-11 win over the La Feria Lionettes on Tuesday night in Port Isabel.
Splitting the district title didn’t come easy for the Lady Tarpons, and it took five games on the final day of the regular season to do so. Facing a 2-1 deficit, Port Isabel rallied behind strong offensive performances by Simone Harry, Gabby Torres and Kelcie Swink to steal the match from La Feria.
“It feels really good,” P.I. coach Julie Breedlove said. “We had two matches that didn’t come out our way (this season), and it feels good for these girls to be able to (share a district title) and I’m really proud of them for what they put into that.”
The Lady Tarpons were quickly behind 7-4 during Game 5 when Breedlove called a timeout, sparking an 11-4 run. The onslaught was powered by three kills from Harry and two from Swink. Port Isabel, which made multiple errors earlier in the match, maintained its composure for a nearly flawless final game.
The teams played a five-game match the last time they met, with La Feria walking away victorious. This time, the Lady Tarpons defended their home court.
“We fought through. Especially in the fifth game,” Breedlove said. “It’s something we didn’t do the last time we played (La Feria).”
Game 5 was made possible after a thrilling fourth game. The Lady Tarpons were ahead most of the second half but needed several scoring spurts to do so. A series of errors by La Feria at multiple points throughout Game 4 assisted P.I. and allowed it to pull ahead for good, and Torres capped the game with two kills late.
It appeared as though the Lady Tarpons would run away with the match after a rout of La Feria during Game 1, but a poor second game filled with service and attack errors allowed the Lionettes to even the match. Game 3 was close and La Feria earned the win to give it the edge, but a resilient Lady Tarpons squad fought back.
“I told (the team) not to hang their heads,” La Feria coach Rebea Fraga said. “It just shows how competitive it was this year between Zapata, Port Isabel and ourselves. Everyone played like champions.”
Torres and Swink led all players with 19 and 17 kills, respectively. Libero Alex Martinez led the Lady Tarpons in digs with 34, and Larissa Torres added 19 assists. For the Lionettes, Belisa Vela led with 16 kills, and Connie Ceballos chipped in a match-leading 26 assists.
By earning a share of the district title, Port Isabel likely will be part of a three-way competition with Zapata and La Feria this weekend to determine the final seeding for the playoffs.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.