By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — With district play nearing, Edinburg Vela has sought ways to challenge itself, be it trying to perfect its passing or completely holding off teams as it appeared destined to do Saturday.
The Lady SaberCats, however, were challenged in a different manner against Mercedes, when they relinquished a lead in Game 3 before securing a 25-12, 25-19, 24-26, 25-7 victory at home.
Vela seemed in control through the third set before the Lady Tigers scored four unanswered to tie it at 23. After knotting it again at 24, Vela committed an error and Mercedes pounded a back-row kill to force Game 4, where the Lady SaberCats opened a 13-4 lead and never looked back.
“It was a great experience playing against a team that’s not in our district,” Vela’s Jaida Muhammad said. “That team did really good. They were scrappy and they didn’t let the ball drop. That’s what we need: to play against a team where we needed to work a little hard to put the ball down.”
With seven returners back, the Lady SaberCats have experienced few setbacks early on, posting a 22-8 record ahead of their district opener. Muhammad, one of the team’s most important players a year ago, posted 20 kills, 15 digs and two blocks Saturday, and teammate Nicole Avelar notched 21 kills, 18 digs and one block.
Vela has benefitted from their continuity. Whereas the team took time to come together with only two seniors last year, the Lady SaberCats now boast an upperclassmen-heavy squad with some newcomers sprinkled across their roster, expecting to make contributions the next two years.
Middle blocker Nicole Castañeda is being replaced by junior Victoria Cavazos, and Cynthia Hernandez is taking over for Mariely Rebollar at setter. Hernandez had 15 assists in Saturday’s win.
Dylann Guerra, a sophomore who started at libero last year, tallied 13 digs in the win over Mercedes, and junior Bianca Cortez posted eight kills and eight blocks. Coach Araceli Ortega said her middle has improved each week this season, and has been aggressive at the net for Vela.
Julissa Cuellar, a returning lettermen, has also come up big her senior season as an outside threat and setter in the back row. She totaled 26 assists and five kills Saturday.
“That experience from making it to the second round last year helps,” Ortega said. “We also had young players (last year) who we needed to give varsity experience, so by the time we got to that level, we had that depth. We have to do that again this year.
“You see they had that bond from playing in the leagues in the summer, and it’s helped them to where they’ve just continued where they left off last year. We still have to tweak some things, but it’s because they’ve played with one another that they have confidence and take care of each other a little bit better.”
Mercedes, which dropped to 11-13, was paced by Roslynn Rodriguez, who had six kills and seven blocks. Lauren Pitts contributed eight kills and one block. Erinn Ramirez doled out nine assists. Jessica Zepeda had 14 digs.
Caitlyn Gutierrez picked up five kills.