By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — As a state-ranked volleyball team, the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons went out and did what they’re supposed to do Tuesday, and that’s win.
The Lady Falcons are ranked No. 25 in Class 6A in the state this week by the Texas Girls Coaches Association. McAllen High is the highest ranked Rio Grande Valley team in 6A at No. 22.
Los Fresnos lived up to its ranking Tuesday by defeating Pace 25-9, 25-17, 25-17 in a non-district match on the Lady Falcons’ court.
“I think our girls played with more confidence tonight,” said Lady Falcons coach Becky Woods, whose team improved to 22-5 on the season. “We know we have a tough District (32-6A) coming up, so we have to play well.
“We’ve seen (projected 32-6A favorites such as) Rivera, we know a lot about Harlingen South, we’ve played Harlingen High twice, and they almost took us down once, and there’s also Hanna,” Woods added. “We just have to keep practicing hard. It’s all a guessing game at this point, but I think it’s going to be a fun district (starting later in September) with all these good teams.”
Los Fresnos next plays host to McHi, considered the Valley’s top team, in a non-district match at noon Saturday.
“I think we’ll have a packed gym for that one,” Woods said.
Pace plays in District 32-5A and is also getting ready for conference competition in September.
Lady Vikings coach Pamela McCumber said playing against a strong team such as Los Fresnos helps her girls become better prepared for 32-5A.
“I told the girls to go in there and try hard,” McCumber said. “The first game was a flop, but the next two games they really came back and tried to do what they needed to do. We had some good spurts (of playing well). We just need to learn to keep it going.”
McCumber said she was pleased with the play of Stephanie Garcia, a setter, and Jill Perez, a libero.
“My setter and libero really hustled,” the Pace coach said. “They’re seniors, and they did their jobs. They did what they had to do.”
Things don’t get any easier for Pace as the Lady Vikings next play at Harlingen South at noon Saturday in a non-conference match.
Pace tied the score early during all three games, but never led. It was tied at 4 in the first game, and then tied at 1 during the second and third sets.
The Lady Vikings pulled within two points, 17-15, during the third game when a block by the Lady Falcons carried out. But Los Fresnos scored the next seven straight points, mainly on kills, tips and a block by Jasmine Garcia, to lead 24-15. The final point of the match came when the Lady Vikings couldn’t get the ball over the net on three hits, allowing the Lady Falcons to prevail 25-17 and sweep the match.
Regarding stats, Los Fresnos was led by Jasmin Garcia with 12 kills and eight blocks. Teammates Tate Halford and Mia Brown added five and four kills, respectively. Also for the Lady Falcons, Cadence Castillo had four aces and 14 digs, while Clarissa Esquibel, the setter, contributed 19 assists.