EDINBURG — Coaches throw out the idiom that “we just want to be better every day.” It’s said so much it may have lost its impact on the ears it falls upon.
Whether it’s cliché or it’s what they live by, the Edinburg Economedes volleyball team took it to heart Friday, putting together their best performance of the season to clinch a spot in the playoffs with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 over Mission High.
The teams finished tied for the fourth and final playoff slot in District 31-6A. Now, Economedes will look to be “better again,” asthe Jaguars will travel to Harlingen for a 6:30 p.m. bi-district match Monday against the District 32-6A back-to-back championCardinals.
But, for the moment, Economedes is going to celebrate their first playoff appearance in 12 years, according to head coach Crissy Soto.
“We are ready,” Soto said. “I feel like this is the best game we’ve had and we couldn’t have asked for better timing.”
Led by the Jaguars’ triumvirate: Sidni Alvarez, Nayelis Mendez and Dana Serna, Econ overcame an 8-1 deficit in the third set. Alvarez and Mendez attacked consistently while Serna attacked, played defense and set up most of the Econ attacks.
Others, however, showed up as well for the Jaguars, especially their middles Jocelin Rosas and Patty Garcia. The tandem’s threat often held blockers to give the other hitters 1-on-1 opportunities at the net. But they also created some offense with some kills, tips and crucial blocks especially against Mission’s big hitter Kayla Alaniz, who kept the Eagles in each set.
“She came out of nowhere,” Soto said about Rosas. “This whole week we’ve been working on trying to finish games and this week was about working the plan and both middles came out here and were doing well.”
The Jaguars had to overcome several tough losses after leading sets. Soto, Serna and the team, however, worked to get throughthose and Friday’s team clearly wasn’t the same team that hit the floor a month ago. While some mental errors still floatedaround, they were fewer and farther in between. Come crunch time, nobody looked at someone else to make a key pass, set orswing.
“This is the biggest thing I wanted to do,” said Serna, a senior. “When I first got here everyone would say Jags aren’t good, Jagsthis, Jags that — you’re not going to accomplish anything. Our sports are put down, ‘Oh, it’s just the Jags.’
I wanted to make a difference. I wanted us to show that you can come from a place that doesn’t get a lot of money or thatdoesn’t have the privileges other schools have and still you can make a difference. It takes everyone coming together to make adecision to make a difference.”
Trailing 12-7 in the third set Economedes went on a 9-1 run behind a kill from a falling backwards Mendez and Bianca Coronadoace. Mission regained the lead at 17-16 but after another Alvarez kill and a pair of floor finders, including one a quick set fromSerna to Alvarez, the Jaguars completed the sweep.
Mendez finished with a match high 23 kills while Alvarez added 17. Serna contributed 28 assists and Jackie Maldonado added16.
“I knew from the beginning w had something special. We just haven’t been able to put it together. Everyone is going to make amistake. We cant’ put each other down. We can’t say that’s your fault or that was your ball or whatever. We have to cometogether — it doesn’t take you, it doesn’t take me, it takes all of us working together as one.”
“That’s what we’ve been instilling in them. It’s not, ‘just Econ,’” Soto said. “We want to make a name for ourselves, create alegacy. We walked in today with our heads up and shoulders back and that’s what we’ve been working on. Today, this is ourtime.”