By ROY HESS/Staff Writer
There’s no doubt about it, the Lopez Lady Lobos are a volleyball team on the rise.
It showed Saturday as the Lady Lobos defeated Pace for the second time within a week at the Pace gym to earn a spot in the Class 5A state playoffs as the No. 4 seed from District 32-5A.
Lopez triumphed 25-11, 25-9, 12-25, 25-20 over the Lady Vikings in Saturday’s “play-in” match after defeating Pace on Tuesday 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 16-14 at the same site to create a tie for fourth place in the district. Both teams finished with 6-8 records in 32-5A, necessitating Saturday’s extra match to determine a postseason qualifier.
The Lady Lobos seemed to raise their game each time they faced Pace after losing at home to the Lady Vikings 27-25, 26-24, 25-19 on Oct. 1 during the first round of district.
“We’re not the same team that we were the first time we played Pace,” said Lopez coach Jacquelynn Touchet, who now has guided her team to the postseason for the second time in four seasons. “That’s obvious from Tuesday. My girls just came out to play today because they were hungry for this playoff spot. Both teams are great. I’m just happy we came out to fight hard and it worked out great for us in the end.
“We’ve been trying to teach the girls to be an attacking team and have that mentality,” Touchet added. “I think (not having that approach) was affecting us (negatively) a lot at the beginning of the season. We’d get nervous and tip (the ball instead of going for the kill) at the end of games. We’ve been working on just going for it and not being afraid of just playing volleyball. I feel that’s what we’ve done in these last two matches against Pace. It’s something that has definitely been effective for us.”
The Lady Lobos’ reward for winning Saturday? They’ll play a 5A bi-district match at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mission Veterans against the District 31-5A champion Lady Patriots.
Two key players for the Lady Lobos who have contributed greatly to the positive evolution of the team are middle blockers Carla Lopez and Anna Morales. They were there Saturday making themselves a presence at the net and recording some impressive kills and blocks during the match.
“This was an amazing match,” said Lopez, a junior. “The first two games we were fighting very hard. Pace got to us in the third set, but then we came back very strong to fight for the win.
“I love this team,” she added. “We all work together and all of us communicate with one another. For the playoffs, we need to come out (even) stronger, and we’ll be working together to take it (to another level). I’m very proud of my team and coaches. They’ve all worked very hard to get us here (and going to the playoffs).”
This marks the second time in school history for the volleyball team at Lopez to reach the postseason under fifth-year coach Touchet, a former standout at Rivera who also played at UT-Brownsville. Assistant Daya Vengas is also a former UTB player.
The players appreciate the guidance of the coaching staff that has got them on an upward path.
“It feels really great to win this match,” said Morales, a senior. “We went out there and gave it our all and earned the victory. We knew we had to show up and play (well). We knew we could overcome (our opponent) if we worked together. We all wanted it and we were all on the same page.
“Our goal is to work hard and come out with a win in the playoffs so we can continue making history for our school,” Morales added.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess