KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
With the second half of district play in full effect, the playoff picture is becoming a bit clearer as the weeks go by and both District 31- and 32-6A are shaping up for a tight race. On Tuesday night, some teams gained steam and now a slate of matches is set for Saturday afternoon.
31-6A RACE HEATING UP: Over the past few seasons, District 31-6A has emerged as one of the tougher volleyball leagues in the Valley. Last year, Edinburg Vela ran the table, but this season Vela is tied with Edinburg High (7-1) and PSJA Memorial (7-1) atop the conference. Meanwhile, PSJA High sits in the fourth spot at 4-4 while Edinburg North remains in the hunt with a 3-5 record.
On Saturday, Vela will travel to Edinburg High, Economedes meets PSJA Memorial and Edinburg North hosts PSJA Southwest.
32-6A SHAPING UP TO BE A DANDY: Much like 31-6A, District 32-6A has shaped up to be extremely competitive. Thus far, perennial power Los Fresnos (7-1) suffered its first conference loss in two years at the hands of Brownsville Rivera, which leads the league at 8-0. Harlingen High (5-3) has emerged as a legit contender after missing the postseason last year.
San Benito (5-3) has been guided by its strong offense and has also made a case for a playoff berth. Brownsville Hanna, meanwhile, is fading in the race for the playoffs with five contenders vying for four spots.
The second half will see multiple marquee matchups beginning with Harlingen at Rivera on Saturday at 3 p.m. while Los Fresnos and Rivera will meet once more down the line in what could determine the district crown.
LADY FALCONS HEATING UP: Sometimes it’s a matter of going to Plan B.
Plan A for the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons involved going undefeated through District 32-6A play for a third consecutive season and winning a school-record fifth straight conference title.
The Lady Falcons had to adjust their plans on Sept. 26 after suffering a 25-14, 25-19, 25-23 loss at Rivera. It was their first district setback since 2014.
Now the plan for Los Fresnos is to keep winning so the Lady Falcons possibly can have a chance to tie Rivera for the district crown when the two teams meet again Oct. 21 in the second round of 32-6A action at Los Fresnos. That’s assuming the Lady Raiders keep winning and maintain the 32-6A lead.
From the Lady Falcons’ perspective, it’s still quite possible to capture a fifth straight district championship, even if it might be shared. They’re thinking Rivera will keep winning, so they have to do the same.
“We have to stay focused and we can’t drop any more matches to anyone,” said Lady Falcons coach Becky Woods after Tuesday’s win at home against the Lady Greyhounds. “We have to come back and beat Rivera on our home court. In order to do that and get a chance at the district title, we can’t lose to anybody. It doesn’t matter who we play.”
Woods said even though the Lady Falcons played with a lot of intensity and showed the ability to stay composed and rally against San Benito, there are still areas to work on.
“Our blocking has to improve,” she said. “We’re working a lot on that.”
LIONETTES STILL ON A ROLL: La Feria is inching closer to a second consecutive District 32-4A title as the Lionettes are a solid 9-0 in league play and are coming off a 3-1 win over Hidalgo on Tuesday night.
The Lionettes are currently on a 13-game win streak with five games remaining. The last time La Feria lost a game was Aug. 12 against Brownsville Pace at the McAllen Tournament.
La Feria puts its win streak on the line this Saturday when they travel to Progreso with the match set to begin at noon.
Roy Hess of the Brownsville Herald contributed to this story