South defeats Alexander in thriller

ROMA -- Harlingen South defeated Laredo Alexander 25-20 , 22-25, 18-25, 27-25, 16-14 on Saturday in Roma to advance to the Class 5A regional quarterfinals where it will take on Eagle Pass.

The teams are expected to play Tuesday in Laredo with time and exact location to be determined later.

South trailed in the fourth game, but the Lady Hawks fought back to send the match to a decisive fifth game. As is usually the case this late in the season, the Lady Hawks are one of the last Rio Grande Valley teams standing.

"It has been the character of this team to battle back," Lady Hawks coach Steve Lunsford said. "They have really toughened up."

The Lady Hawks, the District 31-5A champions, improve to 28-6 on the season.

Harlingen South was led by Joslynn Benavides 23 kills and 28 assists. Setters Ali Lunsford and Bianca Torre recorded 27 assists each.

EAGLE PASS DEF. EDINBURG NORTH 25-19, 29-25, 25-9, 25-16: At Laredo, despite 38 digs from Laura Torres, the Lady Cougars' passing game was not up to par with Eagle Pass during the teams' Class 5A area-round match.

"Their passing game was a lot better than ours," Lady Cougars coach Adrian Cavazos said. "We didn't do a good job passing."

Edinburg North, District 31-5A's third seed, finished the season 18-12 and was led by Julissa Ramirez (12 kills, two stuff blocks) and Anyssa Avila (29 assists).

S.A. SOUTHWEST DEF. LOS FRESNOS 25-19, 25-20, 25-11: At Corpus Christi Ray, the Lady Falcons were swept in the area round of the Class 5A playoffs and finish the season at 18-11.

"I think the San Antonio team came out ready to play," Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. "We came out flat, and we just couldn't regroup.

"They're beatable. But some days you have it and some days you don't."

Woods said her young team had a great season, and with 12 returning starters next year she said the Lady Falcons have good years ahead of them.

"It's always disappointing, but always ends sooner or later," Woods said. "You're just never ready for it. But we'll be back."

CLASS 4A

MIDSSION HIGH DEF. CORPUS CHRSITI MOODY 28-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-12: At Falfurrias, Monica Flores had 22 kills, six service points and 16 defensive digs to lead a balanced Mission High squad over Corpus Christi Moody in a Class 4A area-round match Saturday in Falfurrias.

Mission (23-9) advances to the regional quarterfinals where it will play Medina Valley at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Kingsville.

"It was a tough team. They were the champs in their district," Mission coach Lety Ibarra said. "Our girls just stepped it up and took care of it."

The Lady Eagles rallied after dropping the first game thanks to Flores, Victoria De Leon (six kills, four solo blocks, two stuff/blocks, eight serving points), Veronica Garza (eight serving points, 25 assists, 11 defensive digs) and Celina Vera (nine kills, 13 serving points, 20 defensive digs).

Ibarra delivered a stern message to her team after the opening game.

"I've got nine seniors on the squad, and I said you decide what you need to do," Ibarra said. "They had this little girl, No. 1, and she was just awesome. I said if we shut her down we'll turn things around and we did. That God we did, and that made the difference."

MEDINA VALLEY DEF. EDCOUCH-ELSA 19-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-18: At Alice, the Lady Yellowjackets, who won their first district title in 13 years, were sent packing by Medina Valley in the Class 4A area round.

E-E finishes the season 24-8.

"Medina Valley played a consistent game," Lady Yellowjackets coach Ofelia Griffith said. "We were inconsistent. I think we could have blocked better. We truly could have come out with a win, if we would have played like I know we could."