By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
The first full season of varsity volleyball competition is in the books for the St. Joseph Academy Lady Bloodhounds, who finished with a 10-5 record after winning at home Tuesday against San Isidro.
“The fact that we were able to go from having no volleyball three years ago to having a full varsity season this year (was something amazing),” SJA coach Dolores Olguin-Trevino said. “The players really worked hard to get ready for it. We’re blessed that we have some players who are very athletic, and that was a big plus for us.
“Going 10-5 is not too bad,” she added. “In my mind, we could have won all of them, but I guess we’re still growing, so I can kind of be OK with it. I’ve got everyone coming back except for two seniors. Basically, my two big hitters are a freshman and a sophomore. We’ve got some good, young players coming up, so I think volleyball has a (bright) future at St. Joe.”
One of the top performers for SJA is Halima Dervisevic, a freshman.
“Playing on St. Joe’s first varsity team meant a lot to me because I was in the program’s starting team (in junior high) three years ago,” Dervisevic said. “It is truly an honor to represent my school.
“Our closeness on and off the court helps us play cohesively,” she added. “I love my team because we know how to encourage and help each other. I know that my team will always be there to help me correct my errors, and that is a great feeling.”
Ally Stachowiak, a sophomore, is another of SJA’s top players as a presence at the net.
“I think it’s really amazing to be part of the foundation (for volleyball) at our school,” Stachowiak said. “Over the years, we want to see (more) improvement and other people joining in (with the program) and the fun that we’re having. Everyone has room for improvement. We can’t stop working hard.”
All of the Lady Bloodhounds’ matches this season were non-district. They hope to compete in TAPPS in the future.
TOUGH COMPETITORS
With a 3-7 record, the Porter Cowgirls aren’t close to the top of the District 32-5A standings, but they’ve given their district opponents fits during just about every match. Of the 10 district matches they’ve played so far, the Cowgirls have gone beyond three sets eight times, including four matches that went to five games.
Porter coach Ariel Arredondo is proud of her team’s “never-give-up” attitude, and believes with just a little more consistency the Cowgirls could be higher in the standings and in a better position for the playoffs.
“We’re an inexperienced team,” Arredondo said. “A lot of our girls don’t have varsity experience. It shows in the matches we’ve had that have gone to four or five sets. We’re fighters. What we’ve seen against teams like Pace and Lopez, and even Donna High and Edcouch-Elsa, is that we aren’t able to finish. We’ll have a standout set followed by another standout set and then go flat.
“Regardless, I’m proud of the girls,” Arredondo added. “I know our record doesn’t really reflect how well this team has done.”
The Cowgirls are coming off Tuesday’s 23-25, 25-4, 25-15, 25-20 district win at home against Donna North.
Tuesday’s stat leaders for Porter included Ana Meza (18 kills), Azaneth Perez (18 kills, three aces), Micaela Garcia (10 kills, five solo blocks, one assist), Brigitte Ortiz (45 assists, five aces, one solo block), April Reyes (18 digs), Rachel Reyes (10 digs, two aces), Vanessa Mendez (four aces). Brenda Garcia (four aces) and Aliah Quiroz (three solo blocks, one assist).
The Cowgirls continue 32-5A action Saturday at Donna High.
MATCH MOVED UP
The District 32-5A match between Lopez and Brownsville Veterans Memorial has been moved up to 7 p.m. Friday due to an event taking place at the Brownsville Veterans gym on Saturday. The match still will be played at Brownsville Veterans only a day earlier than originally scheduled.
STANDINGS UPDATE
District 32-6A: Rivera (10-0), Los Fresnos (9-1), San Benito (6-4), Harlingen High (6-4), Hanna (5-5), Harlingen South (2-8), Weslaco East (1-9), Weslaco High (1-9).
District 32-5A: Brownsville Veterans Memorial (10-0), Edcouch-Elsa (7-3), Donna High (7-3), Lopez (5-5), Pace (4-6), Porter (3-7), Mercedes (3-7), Donna North 1-9).
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess