BY PETER RASMUSSEN
STAFF WRITER
DONNA — Edinburg Vela libero Maranda Washington was confident her team would beat Donna High in their Class 5A bi-district volleyball playoff Monday in Donna.
But is straight sets?
“I thought it would go at least four,” Washington said.
Well, Washington and the rest of the Lady SaberCats closed out the Bravettes 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 to advance to the area round, where they will face Calallen. Specifics of Vela’s next match have not been determined.
Part of Washington’s surprise is that Vela, a No. 4 seed out of District 31-5A, swept District 32-5A’s top seed in Donna. The Bravettes also defeated the Lady SaberCats during non-district play. Donna entered the match with a 34-9 record and a co-district champion. Vela was 22-16 overall and 6-6 in district.
The expectations that a No. 1 seed is the favorite had Vela playing as if it had nothing to lose, Washington said.
“We came here calm, but we came here thinking we had to do what we had to do,” she added.
Vela coach Araceli Ortega called the win an upset.
“We lost early in the season to them,” Ortega said. “We knew we were going to have to battle and try to get the win this time around.”
The Lady SaberCats, though, were the more experienced team on paper. They won a playoff match last season and have eight seniors on their roster.
During the match Vela played like a playoff-tested squad, some of which has to do with the district they compete in. District 31-5A also houses RGVSports.com’s top-ranked Mission Veterans Memorial, and four different teams from the league have been ranked in the Top 10 this season.
Donna, on the other hand, was playing in its first playoff game since 2005 and only has three seniors on its team.
“I’m disappointed in not being able to finish,” Donna coach Cindy Viesca said. “All of these girls have no playoff experience. The atmosphere … I thought being at home would be to our advantage.”
The home crowd did nothing to rattle the Lady SabreCats who continued to come through late in sets.
In the third set, Vela trailed 20-17. After a Donna service error that made it 20-18, Vela won the next five points.
During that span, Julissa Cuellar picked up two service points, Donna committed two unforced errors and Jaida Muhammad gave Vela a 23-20 lead with a kill.
After consecutive Donna points, Muhammad’s 16th kill of the match put Vela up 24-22. Donna couldn’t handle the serve on match point, and Vela is advancing to the next round.
The first two sets played out in similar fashion. The teams were tied at 15 in both sets. Each time, Vela won five straight points and then held off Donna.
“We are at a point where we know that we got to take care of each other,” Ortega said about taking control of sets late. “Don’t give up. Throughout the season, those were the type of things we worked on.”
Vela was led by Washington with 10 digs and two aces. Anna Garza had 15 assists while Mariely Rebollar recorded eight. Nicole Avelar had nine kills.
Playoff Schedule
Monday, Nov. 3
Class 6A Bi-district
McAllen Rowe def. Laredo Alexander 24-26. 25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14.
Class 5A Bi-district
Edinburg Vela def. Donna High 25-19, 25-22, 25-22
Class 3A Bi-district
Bishop def. Edinburg IDEA Quest 25-19, 25-21, 25-22
Class 2A Bi-district
Ben Bolt def. La Villa 25-19, 12-25, 25-15, 25-22=
Tuesday, Nov. 4
Class 6A Bi-district
McAllen High vs. Eagle Pass at Laredo Martin, 6 p.m.
Edinburg High at Brownsville Hanna, 6:30 p.m.
Edinburg North at Harlingen High, 7 p.m.
McAllen Memorial vs. Del Rio at Laredo Nixon, 7 p.m.
Mission High vs. Laredo United at Roma, 7 p.m.
Brownsville Veterans at Weslaco East, 7 p.m.
Weslaco High at Los Fresnos, 7 p.m.
Class 5A Bi-district
Mission Veterans at Mercedes, 7 p.m.
Sharyland Pioneer at PSJA High, 7 p.m.
Edcouch-Elsa vs. Roma at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 7 p.m.
Class 4A Bi-district
Grulla vs. Rockport-Fulton at San Diego, 7 p.m.
La Feria vs. Sinton at Bishop,7 p.m.
Port Isabel vs. Beeville at Monte Alto, 6:30 p.m.
Class 3A Bi-district
Lyford at Falfurrias, 6:30 p.m.
Santa Rosa vs. Santa Gertrudis at Kingsville, 7 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. Banquete at Hebbronville, 7 p.m.
Class 2A Bi-district
Santa Maria vs. Riviera at Lasara, 7:30 p.m.