Jesus Sanchez | Staff Writer
In spite of the effort the Lady Tarpons showed throughout their match, it was the Pace Viqueens who came out on top.
Pace swept Port Isabel 25-14, 25-18, 25-6 in the non-district match Tuesday evening.
“We needed a win just to bring up our spirits, especially at home,” Pace head coach Pamela McCumber said after the match. “It really brought up their spirits.”
The two teams went neck and neck in the match’s first game.
Yet, it was the Viqueens who maintained the momentum throughout the game with Pace middle hitter Rosa Salinas delivering the final kill to secure the first victory.
The Lady Tarpons rebounded to make the second set a more competitive one.
Although the Viqueens maintained the lead throughout the set, a 6-0 flurry by Port Isabel kept the Lady Tarpons in the game, at one point closing the gap to 18-16.
A few errors from Port Isabel and a kill from Pace’s Lyz Barrientes in the last moments of the second game put the final dagger in the Lady Tarpons.
“We had a really good fight in that second game, but I think that once we kind of let go of that, it affected it us in the third game as well,” Port Isabel head coach Julie Breedlove said.
Pace was more consistent throughout the third set, particularly on offense.
The Viqueens started off the final set with a 9-2 run and maintained their dominance throughout, allowing the visitors to score no more than four points.
“I think the girls came together, communicated well,” McCumber said. “We’ve been working on little adjustments and they showed it tonight. They came to play and they did what they had to do. We did a lot more hitting, a lot more attacking. Everything was on. Serving was good, so that benefited us.”
Down the stretch in the third and final game, Port Isabel didn’t have enough left in the tank to stop Pace as the Viqueens prevailed 25-6 to sweep the match.
“I thought the girls played hard and, you know, pushed through,” Breedlove said. “We kind of took some of our lumps but I thought the girls did well overall. It’s always tough coming over here and playing at Pace.
“Pace does a good job in getting their kids ready and I think our girls fought and, now, we just go back and work on the things we need to work on. I’m pleased where our girls are right now. They’re doing a good job. We’re young and we’re inexperienced and we’ll keep pushing and working at it.”
McCumber said the Viqueens will use Tuesday night’s win to build momentum going forward in the season.
“The focus going forward is to communicate, to talk, to be there for one another, to motivate one another,” she said.