By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Rivera Lady Raiders played about as well as their coach could expect Tuesday in taking over sole possession of first place in the District 32-6A volleyball race.
The Lady Raiders (6-0) won at home against defending 32-6A champion Los Fresnos 25-14, 25-19, 25-23. The Lady Falcons, trying for a school-record fifth straight district title in volleyball, are now alone in second place at 5-1.
The win snapped Los Fresnos’ 33-match district winning streak that dated back to a loss against Brownsville Veterans Memorial in District 32-5A in 2014 when the Lady Falcons and Lady Chargers shared the conference title, each with one loss.
Everything seemed to click offensively and defensively for the Lady Raiders on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t just one person, it was really a team effort,” Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said. “Everyone contributed and it was a great job by all of our girls.
““Hopefully a win like this one gives us some momentum and gives our girls more confidence,” Avelar-Guerra added. “They need to get out there and play hard without any fear, one point at a time, like they did against Los Fresnos. I always tell them to play without fear, so I hope this will give them more confidence as we get ready to go into the second half of district.”
Leading the way for the Lady Raiders on Tuesday was outside hitter Stephanie Garza, a senior team captain who stands barely 5-foot-5. Garza, who frequently goes against players at the net who are 4 to 5 inches taller than she is, displays a unique ability to leap high into the air and send thunderous, well-placed kills into the opposite court. She had 17 of them against Los Fresnos.
Garza and her teammates repeatedly made timely plays to stay in front whenever Los Fresnos threatened to take the lead.
“Stephanie played well, Litzy (Medina) played well, Mayra (Martinez) and Victoria (Zuniga), my two middle blockers, played well, my setter (Kourtney Shears) and my libero (Madelaine Blanco) and all my diggers — they all did a great job,” Avelar-Guerra said. “It was just an awesome effort by everyone.”
The final matches in the first round of district are scheduled at noon Saturday with Rivera at Harlingen South (2-4), Los Fresnos at Weslaco High (1-5), Weslaco East (0-6) at Hanna (2-4) and Harlingen High (4-2) at San Benito (4-2).
32-5A UPDATE
Thanks to Tuesday’s 25-10, 25-17, 25-9 win at Donna North, Brownsville Veterans remained the District 32-5A leader at 6-0.
Edcouch-Elsa and Donna High each won Tuesday as well to stay close behind the Lady Chargers in the league standings at 5-1. Lopez and Pace are tied for fourth place with 3-3 records followed by Porter at 2-4.
The Cowgirls defeated Mercedes 25-22, 27-25, 19-25, 25-23 on Tuesday.
Mercedes and Donna North are each 0-6 in the standings.
District 32-5A also completes its first round of conference play on Saturday. In those matches, it’s Lopez at Pace, Porter at E-E, Donna High at Brownsville Veterans and Mercedes at Donna North.
The match at Pace between the Lady Lobos and Lady Vikings is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
32-4A SHOWDOWN
There was another showdown for first place Tuesday in the Lower Valley as undefeated District 32-4A co-leaders Raymondville and La Feria squared off in La Feria.
La Feria prevailed 18-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 to improve to 7-0 in 32-4A. Raymondville is 6-1.
Port Isabel, trying to get back to the playoffs after a one year’s absence, is in third place at 4-3.
The Lady Tarpons next play host to Raymondville at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess