By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
With her team down two sets to none against the Harlingen South Lady Hawks, Brownsville Pace coach Pamela McCumber had a simple message for the Viqueens.
She reminded the athletes they were playing on their home court and they have what it takes to fight. The Viqueens responded to win the next three sets and defeat the Lady Hawks 23-25, 15-25, 25-11, 25-16, 15-11.
“They’ve been fighting for a while and they have the heart not to give up, so I said, ‘This is our house. This is what we’ve practiced for,’ and they were really motivated to come back and win the game,” McCumber said. “It means they’re fighters and they don’t give up. We had two or three tough games, and we needed this win before district. They wanted it, and they came back themselves as a team.”
The first set was a tight, back-and-forth battle in which neither team led by more than four points. Harlingen South used a heavy dosage of outside hitters Mariana Garcia and Sonia Corona to pressure the Pace back row.
The Viqueens held tough, led by senior all-around player Ana Cano and freshman middle blocker Andie Lozano-Lomeli, but unforced errors and inconsistent passing put the Lady Hawks on top after the first.
Harlingen South put up a competitive block with Corona and Andrea Grant in the second, causing timing issues with Pace’s offensive attack. The Lady Hawks took advantage of the tips and free balls to run an efficient offense led by the sharp swing of Garcia. Pace’s communication was off, leading to hesitant reactions that kept the Viqueens from finding a rhythm.
Pace put on a clinic from the service line to get back in the match and win the third. Estefany Coutino, Cano and Ashley Gonzalez sparked scoring runs with their serving to put the Viqueens up by as many as 15 points.
The Viqueens kept their momentum rolling into the fourth set, and their play got stronger as the match continued. The defense was quick-footed and covered the court well, and middle blocker Luz Martinez was a presence at the net.
The Lady Hawks regrouped after a timeout to cut their deficit to five, but Pace’s deeper arsenal of hitters proved to be the difference. Viqueens setters Cano and Dyllan Lozano-Lomeli utilized their hitters from all front row positions, keeping Harlingen South’s defense off-balance to tie the match at two sets each.
Martinez and Cano led the high-energy Viqueens to an early 10-5 advantage in the deciding fifth set. The Lady Hawks fought back again, using good swings from Garcia and Sonia and Grettell Corona to force some Pace errors and a timeout.
Solid serving from Kaylie Dickens, who played well for South in the back row throughout the match, put the Lady Hawks right back in the set at 10-10. But the powerful swing of Andie Lozano-Lomeli and scrappy defense led by libero Jex Perez gave the momentum back to the Viqueens, and they rolled to a 15-11 set win to seal the come-from-behind victory.
“It was an amazing feeling. You just want to win, and when you want it so much you just make it happen,” Cano said. “I felt great. It’s not an individual, it’s a family. We all need to be together. They’re all amazing and I feel loved, and it’s a good feeling.”
The Lady Hawks had a long conversation following their second straight five-set heartbreak, and coach Anissa Lucio said they’re ready to build on these challenges to take on their district slate.
“Pace just stepped up. We really want to give them credit, they stepped up and played a great game,” Lucio said. “We are seeing a lot of fight and great moments, and those are things we’re going to try to capitalize on. The potential is there, we just need to be more consistent. They’re going to give it their all. This team is special, they have a really strong work ethic and they’re going to figure it out. We’re OK with dealing with it now, that way we can have a good week of practice and get into district next week.”