By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
LA JOYA — The end of the volleyball season came all too soon for the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons on Saturday in the area round of the Class 6A playoffs.
The District 32-6A champion Lady Falcons came up on the short end of a 22-25, 25-8, 25-17, 23-25, 15-11 match against District 29-6A runner-up Laredo United at the La Joya Palmview gym.
United (33-8) advances to the 6A regional quarterfinals to face District 30-6A runner-up McAllen High (42-2), while the season for Los Fresnos (27-14) is over.
The Lady Falcons had all they could handle and more against the the tall, active Lady Longhorns, who were quite a force at the net with their strong hitting and blocking.
Still, the Lady Falcons were thankful for their season that included a fourth straight district title with an undefeated 14-0 conference record.
“I’m just so proud of all the girls,” said Giselle Ibarra, a junior outside hitter for the Lady Falcons. “We gave it our all, we played with heart and this just wasn’t our year (to go far in the playoffs), but I’m really proud of us. I’m just so happy that all of us could be together on one team, and I just love all these girls. I thank God for everything.”
Added teammate Ashley Tumlinson, a senior outside hitter, “I would just like to say that I’m so proud of how far we’ve come from the beginning of the season. Everyone doubted us, and I want our underclassmen — the sophomores and the juniors — to take the offseason to train as hard as they can and come back and go so many rounds deeper (in the playoffs) because I know they can.”
Things were looking good for Los Fresnos as the Lady Falcons won the first game 25-22, but the match quickly turned in United’s favor during the second game as the Lady Longhorns caught fire and cruised to a 25-8 victory. United’s momentum continued as it took the third set 25-17, and the Lady Falcons started to realize they were in a bit of trouble.
Still, Los Fresnos fought back to win the fourth game 25-23 and send the match to a fifth and deciding set.
Strong play at the net and some kills with authority allowed the Lady Longhorns to surge to advantages of 6-1 and 7-2 early in the fifth set. The Lady Falcons pulled to within one point at 11-10 and then at 12-11, but from there, the Lady Longhorns came up with three straight kills to capture the match by taking the fifth set 15-11.
“This was an excellent match,” United coach Leticia Longoria said. “It was very hard fought between the two teams. It was a strong showing by the Los Fresnos players to come back and fight hard against us like they did.
“But at the end, our girls pushed for the win and they followed through to get it,” Longoria added. “I’m very proud of every single girl on our team. There are no words to really describe how great they play.”
Isela Murillo, a 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter, led United with 23 kills and 19 digs. Teammate Lauren Arzuaga, a 6-1 freshman middle blocker, added 16 kills and five blocks.
For Los Fresnos, 5-11 senior Jackie Kingsbury was once again a presence at the net, and actually all over the court. The UT-Rio Grande Valley commit finished with 31 digs, 21 kills and four blocks. Ibarra added 12 kills and three blocks. Tumlinson had eight digs and six kills while Isis Delgado had 24 digs. Also for the Lady Falcons, Sarah Villarreal had 42 assists and Emma Stumbaugh had six blocks.
This weekend marked the end of the season for the three Metro-area teams that were still alive in the playoffs.
On Friday in a Class 5A area-round match, Brownsville Veterans Memorial lost to Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial 25-23, 19-25, 27-25, 25-15. Also Friday, in a 6A area match, Rivera fell to Laredo Alexander 25-21, 25-15, 25-19.