EDINBURG — When Saturday began, the Mission High and Edinburg North volleyball teams had great opportunities to create breathing room in the standings with matches against Edinburg High and PSJA High, respectively.
Edinburg High and PSJA High had different plans.
The Bobcats and Bears claimed sweeps of the co-first place teams, intensifying the District 31-6A race for a district championship and tightening the standings for playoff position.
Jazmin Cuellar and Natalie Hernandez provided plenty of firepower, and libero Hannah Vega led a strong defensive effort, stopping any sort of Mission offensive attack as Edinburg High claimed a 25-20, 25-14, 25-8 victory. The win improved Edinburg High to 6-3 in district, while Mission fell to 7-2. Likewise in Pharr, the Bears captured a 25-20, 26-24, 25-18 win over Edinburg North to also improve to 6-3, sending North to 7-2.
Edinburg Vela’s win over PSJA North on Saturday kept the SaberCats in the playoff hunt as well, improving their record to 5-4.
It didn’t take long for Cuellar to show that she had the makings for a great day, collecting three kills while Vega served up one of her four aces on the day and Edinburg jumped out early to a 7-2 lead. Mission threatened just once the rest of the day, in the second set, to take a lead early in that set.
Cuellar finished with match highs in kills (17) and blocks (10), and with Hernandez’s 10 kills, it proved to be too much firepower for a Mission squad that seemed in disarray, unable to find any rhythm and giving up too many opportunities for Edinburg High to attack by sending free balls over the net. The Bobcats gladly obliged.
“It gets your blood pumping, it gets the entire team going when the offense starts going,” Cuellar said. “We had to come in and realize the past is the past and come back to see what you can do better and how you can help the team better because it’s not about one person, it’s a team effort.”
Part of Mission’s struggles, however, could be blamed on the Bobcats, who defensively seemed to be everywhere Mission tried to attack, from kill attempts to tips to pushes in the deep corners or trying to sneak a second ball over the net. Vega was one of three players with double digits in digs with a team-leading 31. Mia Dominguez added 14 digs and Kristen Salinas had 10. Hernandez and Arianna also contributed nine digs apiece as the Bobcats played superior coverage defense and turned many of the free balls into attack opportunities.
“The pass has a lot to do with setting, and once they get a good ball … it’s all a domino effect. The defense is a big part of the game,” Vega said. “The defense helps keep us alive.
“The serve can help keep the momentum or lose the momentum, too. We’ve been working a lot on our serving game, spot serving and finding the weaker players or the open areas. It’s a big part of the game as well.”
It has been a roller-coaster week for the Bobcats, defeating Edinburg Vela on Tuesday in three sets before falling to Edinburg North on Friday, also in three sets.
“After yesterday’s loss, you always worry as a coach, because the kids have to turn it around and bounce back so quickly,” Edinburg High head coach Deanna Dominguez said. “I thought Sam Saenz, our right-side hitter, when she just wailed on a ball, I knew when I saw that, that we were ready to go.
“It sends a message when you force that other team to scramble and bring something back. Fortunately we were able to get those free balls from Mission and convert them. They are a great team.”