EDINBURG — After dropping the first set of the new high school volleyball season, Edinburg Vela head coach Araceli Ortega made some adjustments.
During that time, the SaberCats took the net away from city rival Edinburg North, slowed down the monster power hitting of North’s Etsel Ramirez both with timely blocks and a strong defense, and unleashed a variety of hitters.
Then, of course, there was Fey Vasquez, who, once unleashed, did the rest of the damage as the SaberCats claimed a 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-17 victory over their city rival in the mutual season opener for both schools at Edinburg North.
Vasquez, a 5-11 senior, tallied 10 kills and seven kills to pace Vela. She started the match slowly, but dominated during the final two sets. Emily Gonzalez and Emma Lucio each added seven kills.
“I saw the block coming in more and our set was on, so I could really hit better than sending it over on a roll shot,” Vasquez said. “But it was definitely my teammates where the openings were. We have a lot of hitters this year, toward the end we connected with our setters and it made a difference. I think we learned a lot about connecting with our setters.
The SaberCats led early in each set but showed their early season rust with attack or coverage errors during spells that kept letting North back into the game. The Cougars won the first set after trailing 14-9, going on a 16-7 run to secure the win Etsel Ramirez, Maye Espinoza and Abriana Cubriel.
“We really had to step up our game on the net, because we couldn’t give them easy access to what they had in that first set,”said Ortega, whose team was realigned to the powerful District 31-5A this season. “(Ramirez) was picking us apart with different types of attacks.
“A lot of it was also us trying to do more things when the ball is on our side of the court. We started recognize they were double blocking our middle and seeing what side they were coming from. Something we need to take advantage of is where are the points and trying not to rally so much.”
The SaberCats not only showed a plethora of hitters, including Samantha Villalobos, Lucio, Gonzalez and Vasquez, but also showed glimpses of running a 6-2 offense at times instead of a 5-1, working with sophomore returning setter Abigail Zamora and freshman Lauren Hanson. The changeup in the rotation also allowed Vela to use more of the hitters.
“Fey holds the block a lot of times and teams know who she is,” Ortega said. “But her selling that block gives us chances to split their block when we send it to the outside.
“We are trying to see what is going to work for us,” Ortega said. “And see where we can get more of our strengths from.”
Vela returns to action for three matches Thursday at the McAllen High Poundfest Tournament. Edinburg North plays at the Donna ISD Tournament, also beginning Thursday.