By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville St. Joseph Lady Bloodhounds showed their fight in a marathon of a season- and district-opening win over Corpus Christi Incarnate Word Academy on Saturday at Memorial Gym.
After dropping the first set due to some slow starting engines, St. Joseph’s volleyball team battled hard for a 21-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 15-8 victory. SJA coach Dolores Olguin-Trevino said it’s nothing new for her team to play the full five sets, and she’s proud of the resiliency the players continue to show.
“My kids like the rollercoaster. We go five sets several times during the season. I’d rather not go five sets, but if you can be down and come back like they did, that says something about their work,” Olguin-Trevino said. “I think it’s just, they’re still trying to get to that point where they feel comfortable with who they have in there. I made a lot of different changes, and they took it in stride and finally just settled down. I’m proud of them.”
The teams started most sets by swapping small leads and ties. A big difference maker that continually put CCIWA in control was the Lady Angels’ strong serving. CCIWA coach Tom Messner found weak spots in the SJA serve-receive, and his players were effective at hitting the spots he called to record aces, shanked passes and keep the Lady Bloodhounds out of rhythm.
CCIWA’s Cara Lichtenberger was especially efficient at the service line and sparked a scoring run that helped the Lady Angels take the opening set 25-21.
In Set 2, sophomore middle blocker Andrea Jasso came to life for SJA. She played every rotation, and her back row defense was just as impactful as her big swing from the middle position. Jasso was strong at the service line to help the Lady Bloodhounds open a lead late and put the set away, 25-20.
“I feel pretty good. Everything I’m doing is because of Coach O. She has taught me everything I know, and I’m so happy I’m getting good hits,” Jasso said. “Our setter was good, she got good passes. It was the whole team, not just one person. We all worked together to get this win.”
A trio of CCIWA hitters — Lichtenberger, Ava Lichtenberger and Grace Barth — were dominant during the third set. The Lady Bloodhounds didn’t communicate well and the defense struggled to read the Lady Angels’ attack, resulting in a 19-12 deficit and forcing Olguin-Trevino to call a timeout.
“I just told them, ‘You know guys, when you’re down, you have to dig deep. You have to come back to the basics, because that’s what’s going to get you to play better,’” Olguin-Trevino said.
The Lady Bloodhounds responded to that message, and started passing and covering the court better late in the set. Junior outside hitter Mildred Verlage, who struggled hitting early in the match, dug deep and continued to swing hard, helping SJA close the gap and fight off several set points. But the early hole was a bit too much to overcome, and CCIWA went up 2-1 with a 25-20 win.
Verlage, Jasso and junior setter Elise Esparza were key contributors for SJA during the fourth and fifth sets. Olguin-Trevino moved Verlage to the opposite position, which is more natural for her left-handed swing, and the difference was immediate. She showed off her power at the net and at the service line, leading an eight-point scoring run that resulted in a 25-17 set win for SJA, fittingly capping it with an ace.
“I switched her to the right side… and she was more effective there, but she’s a great left-side hitter, too,” Olguin-Trevino said. “Being a power hitter, when she makes a mistake she doesn’t get frazzled. And that’s what I like about her, because I think it rubs off on the other girls. They all keep their heads, and they’re such good kids.”
The heart of the Lady Bloodhounds was on full display during the deciding fifth set. Esparza came up big as a hitter, and SJA’s defense was active and stymied the CCIWA attack to clinch the match with a 15-8 win.
Jasso and junior Natalia Montemayor anchored the SJA defense. Montemayor started the match in the libero position, but Olguin-Trevino swapped her with senior Nury Ramirez after the first set. Though small in stature, Montemayor made an impact as a hitter and was clutch defensively to help her team start the season on the right track.
“We’re so happy. It was back and forth, and we knew as a team we needed to push hard and show everybody that we have what it takes, and that’s what we did today,” Jasso said. “We told ourselves, ‘Who wants it more? We need to push ourselves.’ We knew we needed to keep talking and communicating with each other, and we’re so glad that worked out on the court.”