By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
The third time was the charm for the Rivera Lady Raiders.
Having lost to the Edinburg North Lady Cougars twice in volleyball tournament action earlier this season, the Rivera girls came alive for a hard-fought 25-14, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 non-district victory over the Lady Cougars at Rivera on Tuesday.
“It was awesome,” Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said. “The girls needed to get a win like this at home. Last time they played at home they were very nervous (and lost). They played very well tonight.”
It was a back-and-forth match the entire way.
In the fourth game, Rivera led by as many as 10 points, 17-7, after a hit into the net by Edinburg North, but the Lady Cougars battled back to close the Rivera lead to four points, 22-18, when the Lady Raiders hit the ball out of bounds.
From there, Rivera tallied three of the next four points to take the fourth game 25-19 and win the match. On the final two points, the Lady Cougars blocked hits by Rivera, but the ball carried out to lift the Lady Raiders.
With the win, the Rivera girls improved to 17-8 in non-district action. Edinburg North slipped to 16-10.
“It was a tough match,” Lady Cougars coach Raul McCallum said. “We had already played them twice (in a tournament and won), so it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row.
“Rivera was ready to play and we were sluggish,” McCallum added. “Maybe it was jitters from the first day of school, I don’t know. We just have to work on bouncing back now.”
Kenya Ibarra led Rivera with 22 kills. Christina Garza added 13. Also for Rivera, Madelaine Blanco had 43 digs and Kourtney Shears and Claudia De La Garza had 26 and 23 assists, respectively.
Shears added 14 digs and Ibarra had nine digs, four blocks and an ace. De La Garza had a pair of aces with nine digs.
“I told my girls to be ready because Edinburg North plays very smart,” Avelar-Guerra said. “I told them they needed to anticipate and read (the plays). They did and played very well.
“Both teams are good and it was a tough match,” she added. “I’m really proud the girls were able to focus (and win).”
The Lady Raiders continue non-district play at Edinburg High at noon on Saturday.