By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
KINGSVILLE — San Perlita’s turnaround season came to an end.
The Lady Trojans fell to a strong offensive group in Freer 25-17,25-21,25-20 in the class 2A regional quarterfinals Tuesday night at H.M. King High School in Kingsville.
San Perlita’s season ends with a 20-3 record along with a district, bi-district and area title. The last time San Perlita was in the third round was during the 2015-16 season.
Second-year head coach Criselda Rubalcaba saw the progress made from last season, where San Perlita finished in fourth place, to this year’s district title team.
“ At the start of the year, our seniors made a goal,” Rubalcaba said. “That goal was to win district and to reach the third round of the playoffs and our team accomplished those goals. Of course, the lost night is devastating, but this team grew each week and got better and I’m just proud of my girls.”
The senior group is what helped turn the tide this season. Senior outside hitter Karime Rojas took in her senior year along with her first district title.
“ It meant a lot to me on what we did this season,” Rojas said. “All the work paid off, all the running and 6 a.m. practices paid off, even though we hated them. We still pushed though and represented our team. It was a bumpy road but it was all worth it.”
San Perlita battled tough in the first set but didn’t have an answer for Freer’s hitters Kara Carpenter and Carolyn Hinojosa.
“ They did have a lot of fire power and they were a great group of girls,” Rubalcaba said. “I can’t take anything away from them; they have some great hitters. Our girls were a little rattled in the first set but were able to get it together and pulled through.”
In the second set, San Perlita settled down and tied the match at 20 a piece, but could not shut the door. In the third set, the Lady Trojans jumped out to a 4-0 lead and an 11-8 lead, but a 10-3 run from Freer gave them an 18-14 lead that helped make the difference.
“ They caught us on a bad night; this wasn’t our best night,” Rubalcaba said. “After the first set, the girls saw what to expect. We saw that we could compete but it was tough having to come back after that first set.”