Lady Cougars top Pace

EDINBURG - Edinburg North survived an inconsistent first game to take a 14-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22 victory against Brownsville Pace in the bi-district round of the Class 5A volleyball playoffs.

"We were a little overwhelmed at first," Lady Cougars coach Adrian Cavazos said. "But, we were able to settle down and play a little more consistently."

Senior middle-hitter Julissa Ramirez came up big for the Lady Cougars (18-11), who will play Eagle Pass on Saturday in the area round, likely in Laredo.

Ramirez finished with 18 kills and proved to be an intimidating presence at the net, causing Pace into a number of hitting errors, especially in key moments in Game 3 and 4.

"We were two very even-matched teams," Pace coach Carmen Whittemore said. "It was going to come down to who made the most mistakes and we made the most mistakes."

Games 3 and 4 were as close as the scores would indicate. Pace was up 22-21 in Game 3, before Ramirez made her presence felt. She had two kills and then it looked she was intimidating the Pace hitters as the Viqueens (17-10) hit back-to-back spike attempts into the tape of the net to give the Lady Cougars Game 2 and a 2-1 edge.

"I think they were trying to hit around her," Cavazos said of Ramirez.

In Game 4, the biggest lead either team held was two points, until the Lady Cougars scored the last three points to break a 22-22 tie. Ramirez's kill ended the game and she wheeled away from the net to celebrate with her teammates.

Pace took the first game somewhat easily as junior outside hitter Cindy Castillo, who had 15 kills, and senior hitter Iselle Brown got in some solid spikes. The Lady Cougars, who haven't been in the playoffs for two years, looked a little nervous and weren't very consistent with their offense.

Edinburg North found a little more consistency in Game 2 and took an 8-2 edge, but Pace rallied and it was tied at 19-19 before kills by Virdiana Santibanez and Ramirez seemed to ignite the Lady Cougars and they were able to hold off the Viqueens and even the match at 1-1.

(Paul Conatzer covers high school sports for the Valley Freedom Newspapers.) You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via e-mail at pconatzer@themonitor.com.)