EDINBURG — Brownsville Hanna shook things up by taking down Edinburg Vela in the first set. However, the SaberCats rallied to take the next three for a four-set victory in their Class 6A bi-district playoff match Tuesday.
Vela’s win avenged a first-round loss to Hanna in last year’s playoffs as they won 22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-13. The SaberCats, who won their sixth straight match, will face either McAllen Memorial or Laredo LBJ in the area round.
Vela, the District 31-6A champion, improved to 29-11, while District 32-6A fourth seed Hanna fell to 22-23.
Vela head coach Araceli Ortega thought nerves played a factor as Hanna raced to a big lead in the first set.
“They (Hanna) came out firing and it took us a little while to adjust,” Ortega said. “We finally started recognizing, ‘Hey, we are at home,’ and we were able to play our game.”
Down 24-16, Vela rattled off six straight points behind the service of Dayana Cantu before the Golden Eagles locked up the first set.
“Losing that first set woke us up,” SaberCat senior Glenys Maldonado said. “We took that challenge. We reacted positively and we got the next set.”
Maldonado led the team with 17 kills, 19 points and 20 digs. Fey Vasquez contributed 19 kills.
Vela led by as many as six points early during the second set before Hanna forged a comeback, taking a 21-19 lead on a perfectly placed tap by middle hitter Odalys Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a force all over the floor for Hanna, wracking up 21 kills.
Vela outscored the Eagles 6-2 the rest of the way to claim the second set and square the match at 1-1.
Hanna’s Camille Atkinson produced 14 assists and sophomore Rianna Treviño had eight digs.
Vela engineered another six-point lead (10-4) in the third set before the Eagles clawed back, taking a 17-16 lead on an ace by Gonzalez. Vela regrouped and outscored Hanna 9-3 the rest of the way, capping the set with a block. Vela then overwhelmed Hanna like a tsunami in the fourth set, never trailing, as they coasted to a 12-point win.
“I feel all the butterflies, nerves were gone (by the fourth set),” Maldonado said. “Everyone was talking to each other. We were pumping each other up.”
Ortega praised the efforts of her players.
“Our freshman, Fey Vasquez, really helped us in the middle,” Ortega said. “She was putting the ball where they weren’t and that really helped us. Glenys Maldonado pulled through on some big plays. Of course, we’ve been banking on her all season.”