By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Sometimes, it’s a matter of going to Plan B.
Plan A for the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons involved going undefeated through District 32-6A volleyball for a third consecutive season and winning a school-record fifth straight conference title.
The Lady Falcons had to adjust their plans on Sept. 26 after suffering a 25-14, 25-19, 25-23 loss at Rivera. It was their first district setback since 2014.
After defeating San Benito 25-15, 25-22, 25-21 on Tuesday, the Lady Falcons (7-1) stayed right behind district leader Rivera (8-0) in the 32-6A race. San Benito and Harlingen High are tied for third place at 5-3.
Now the plan for Los Fresnos is to keep winning so the Lady Falcons possibly can have a chance to tie Rivera for the district crown when the two teams meet again Oct. 21 in the second round of 32-6A action at Los Fresnos. That’s assuming the Lady Raiders keep winning and maintain the 32-6A lead.
From the Lady Falcons’ perspective, it’s still quite possible to capture a fifth straight district championship, even if it might be shared. They’re thinking Rivera will keep winning, so they have to do the same.
“We have to stay focused and we can’t drop any more matches to anyone,” said Lady Falcons coach Becky Woods after Tuesday’s win at home against the Lady Greyhounds. “We have to come back and beat Rivera on our home court. In order to do that and get a chance at the district title, we can’t lose to anybody. It doesn’t matter who we play.”
Woods said even though the Lady Falcons played with a lot of intensity and showed the ability to stay composed and rally against San Benito, there are still areas to work on.
“Our blocking has to improve,” she said. “We’re working a lot on that.”
The Lady Falcons continue their 32-6A schedule by playing at Harlingen South on Saturday. The start time has been changed from noon to 3 p.m. due to testing.
Also, a key 32-6A match at 3 p.m. Saturday has Harlingen High at Rivera.
Rounding out the 32-6A standings behind the top four teams, it’s Hanna (3-5), South (2-6), Weslaco High (1-7) and Weslaco East (1-7).
32-5A UPDATE
Thanks to Tuesday’s 25-15, 20-25, 25-12, 25-16 win at Pace, the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers remain atop the District 32-5A standings at 8-0.
Behind Brownsville Veterans, it’s Edcouch-Elsa (7-1), Lopez (5-3), Donna High (5-3), Pace (3-5), Porter (2-6), Mercedes (2-6) and Donna North (0-8).
At this point, it appears the same four teams that went to the playoffs last year (Brownsville Veterans, E-E, Donna High and Lopez) are on course to do so again. Lopez had to defeat Pace in a “play-in” match last season to reach the postseason as the two teams wound up tied for fourth place in district. It’s possible Pace could create that same scenario again this season. But for now, the Lady Lobos and also the Bravettes have a two-match cushion over the Lady Vikings.
WRAPPING IT UP
It’s been a successful season for the St. Joseph Academy Lady Bloodhounds, who are playing their first full season of varsity competition.
SJA (9-4) plays at Hebbronville on Friday and closes out its season at home against San Isidro at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The Lady Bloodhounds are coached by Dolores Olguin-Trevino, who previously coached at Hanna and Los Fresnos.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess