By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
The UIL state playoffs in volleyball start Oct. 30.
The playoff picture in Districts 32-6A and 32-5A is coming together as the regular season winds down.
There are two match dates remaining in each district with plenty of time allowed after the final matches next Tuesday to settle any ties that might exist to determine postseason qualifiers.
Thanks to their 25-7, 25-7, 25-15 win at home Tuesday against Weslaco East, the Rivera Lady Raiders (12-0) have clinched at least a tie for the 32-6A championship.
Rivera closes out the regular season at second-place Los Fresnos (10-2) at noon Saturday and plays at home at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against Harlingen South.
Los Fresnos is the only other 32-6A team that has clinched a playoff spot. The district’s final two postseason berths will go to San Benito (8-4), Harlingen High (7-5) or Hanna (6-6). Hanna is at home against Harlingen High at noon Saturday and San Benito is at Harlingen High at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see what happens.
The Lady Raiders are district champions for the first time since 2007.
Rivera’s solid, consistent play on defense perhaps has been the difference in giving the Lady Raiders a bit of an edge against the other quite competitive teams in 32-6A.
“Our girls have been playing aggressively and pretty smart,” Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said recently. “I tell our girls to keep the ball alive (defensively) because when they do that, the other team’s offense tends to get frustrated. I know that for a fact because it’s happened to us.
“But you can’t get frustrated offensively when that happens (against a defense that handles everything),” the Rivera coach added. “You have to pick up the ball and keep going, point by point. It’s human nature to get a little frustrated when you thought that a hit should have been a kill and it isn’t. The key is to keep going, keep fighting. Our girls are doing that.”
Avelar-Guerra is doing her best to keep the Lady Raiders focused and consistently playing at a high level.
“It’s about playing one match at a time, one point at a time, and not getting overconfident,” she said. “It has to be one match at a time. Any opponent can beat you if you’re not ready. We have to play hard whether we’re ahead by 10 points, five points or whatever. It doesn’t matter what the score might be.
“Our whole team is playing very well together right now,” she added. “It’s a tough district and we know we’ve got to fight for every win. I’m really proud of the girls because it is such a tough district and they’re right there (in first place).”
DISTRICT 32-5A UPDATE
Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s 25-21, 22-25, 25-10, 25-16 win at Porter on Tuesday enabled the Lady Chargers (12-0) to win the outright 32-5A title for the second straight season.
Donna High and Edcouch-Elsa, both 9-3, share second place in 32-5A and have clinched playoff spots along with Brownsville Veterans.
With two matches to go, Pace and Lopez are tied for fourth place in 32-5A with 5-7 records. Just like last year, it appears one of those two teams will be the fourth-place seed in the playoffs from the district.
Lopez is at E-E at 4 p.m. Saturday and Pace is at Donna High at 3 p.m. the same day. If the Lady Vikings and Lady Lobos are still tied for fourth after Saturday, the deadlock will be broken when Lopez plays at home against Pace at 7 p.m. next Tuesday in a regular-season finale.
The Pace-Lopez winner likely will face Mission Veterans, the Valley’s top-ranked team, in the 5A bi-district playoffs.
OF NOTE
Port Isabel remains in the thick of the playoff hunt in District 32-4A along with first-place La Feria and second-place Raymondville. Zapata and Rio Hondo are also in the mix. The Lady Tarpons are trying to return to the Class 4A playoffs after a one year’s absence.
The third-place Lady Tarpons (7-6) are coming off Tuesday’s four-set win at home against Zapata.
The final day of matches in 32-4A is scheduled next Monday.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess