Volleyball Roundup: Hawks open with win over San Benito

HARLINGEN — When it comes to playoff time, it’s do or die from here on out.

Harlingen South survived a scare from San Benito and was able to defeated the Lady Greyhounds 25-20, 25-22, and 25-17 in their Class 5A bi-district volleyball match-up at Harlingen South on Monday.

South, which improved to 33-1 overall and is currently ranked 21st in the state, will face the winner of McAllen and Eagle Pass in the area round.

“We completely ignored that San Benito was the fourth seed in District 32-5A and knew that it was going to be a big test for us,” said Lady Hawks head coach Steve Lunsford.

“It was a great match and San Benito’s middle executed well and Ruby Castillo is a great athlete. “But the Orange and Green found a way to win tonight and played playoff ball.”

San Benito (18-11) took the early 5-3 lead in game one as they had the early momentum.

But South then went on an 8-1 run and took the lead 11-6 as the Lady Hounds had trouble defending the Lady Hawks’ kill shots.

After San Benito trimmed the lead to 12-10, South went on a tear as it outscored the Lady Hounds 10-0 to take a demanding 22-10 lead.

San Benito cut the lead to 24-20 as it fought back and tried to keep the game alive. But South was able to get its last point on a sideout by San Benito.

Game two was a wild and wacky one as both teams went on massive tears.

San Benito took a commanding 13-4 lead as South’s defense was non-existent and made some careless mistakes.

But South fought back after trailing 16-6 and tied the game at 16 as the Lady Hawks went on a 10-0 run.

Joslynn Benavides played a huge role during South’s run as she nailed kill shot after kill shot and helped her team get back in the game. Benavides led the Lady Hawks with 16 kills on the night.

However, San Benito retook the lead 21-19 as it was able to stop the bleeding caused by South’s run.

But South closed out the game, outscoring San Benito 6-1 to take a two games to none lead.

Both teams exchanged the lead three times early in game three and were deadlocked at seven at one point.

However, South picked up the momentum and outscored San Benito 18-10 to seal the victory.

“That run in the second game was a big momentum shift for us and we seemed to pick it up after that,” said Benavides. “We were not moving our feet and our defense was off a bit tonight.

“But we picked up our game and were able to get the win. We just need to get better and work on a few things before the next game.”

San Benito head coach Ruby Medina was pleased with the way her team battled against the likes of South.

“I am so proud of my girls because they played with all of their heart and soul tonight,” said Medina. “I could have not asked for more from them.”

>> John Cannon, Special to RGVSports.com

PSJA HIGH DEF. BROWNSVILLE PACE

At Brownsvile, PSJA High ended Pace’s season Monday night with a 25-10, 18-25, 25-17, 25-22 victory during the Class 5A bi-district match.

Melissa Mireles was the star of the game for the Lady Bears, tallying 16 kills and four blocks

With the score tied at 13 in the final game, Mireles smacked four consecutive kills to give the Lady Bears a lead they would not give back. Setting up Mireles and the rest of the PSJA attack was Abby Gonzalez with 30 assists and two aces.

The first set was dominated early and often by Maya Gray, who had two aces and two kills to give the Lady Bears a 12-1 lead in the first set. Stout defense from Lisa Mancillas and Jenny Alaniz helped keep the Viqueens at bay, never allowing Pace within 10 points.

"We had our little ups and down but I told them they needed to stay focused and we did just that," PSJA coach Debbie Puente said.

Pace shrugged off the first set loss in quick fashion, coming out of the gate with a 13-6 lead in the second set with the help of Laura Zamarripa and Andrea Jimenez, both of which were on fire the entire set. PSJA mounted a small comeback but the Viqueens rallied behind a long point that ended when the Lady Bears had no answer for the hustle of Cindy Castillo and Sammie Saenz, who both dove on the court in the same possession to keep the rally going to give the Viqueens the point.

Stellar play from Mireles and countless Viqueens miscues was to blame for the easy third set win for PSJA, as well as the offensive play of Macillas, who added nine kills on the night. Pace responded by taking an 8-2 lead in the fourth game before PSJA’s Gray went down with an injury. Gray was slowly taken off the court but the crowd rallying behind her seemed to energize the Lady Bears, as they took seven of the next eight point to tie it up. Cindy Castillo and the Viqueens battled back to try and hold off the late charge from Mireles but Pace started to commit unforced errors and couldn’t stop the bleeding once it started.

Gray came back on the court in the final set and Ashley Treviño helped serve out the match for the Lady Bears.

"They really wanted to win and they came out and played great defense like they have the last eight games," Puente said.

PSJA will face McAllen Rowe during the area round of the playoffs.

>> Evan Knopp, Special to RGVSports.com

ECONOMEDES DEF. WESLACO HIGH

At Weslaco, Kayla Silva had 17 kills, 10 digs and 18 service points to lead Edinburg Economedes to its first Class 5A bi-distirct victory in three years on Monday night with a 26-24, 20-25, 25-16, 25-18 victory against Weslaco.

Leigha Brown had 13 kills and seven blocks, Valerie Perez 20 digs; Daniella Gaitan seven blocks; Kayla Longoria 21 service points, 10 asissts, eight digs; Britney Curiel 12 assists and Lexi Barreiro 10 assists for Economedes (22-10).

Weslaco (22-7), making its first playoff appearance in 10 years, was led by Patty Cabrera’s 10 kills. Teammates Kimberly Armstrong had nine kills and eight blocks (four solo), Lysandra Cavazos 19 digs and Brooke Amador six solo blocks.

Economedes advances to play the winner of tonight’s Rio Grande City/San Antonio Southwest match in the area round.

The Lady Jaguars trailed by six points midway through the first game, but a series of Lady Panthers errors enabled Economedes to climb back and take the game.

"We had a slow start, and we hadn’t seen them play," Economedes coach Araceli Ortega said. "The girls played very well tonight. We were playing tough defense. When we started picking that up, it gave us some momentum."

Weslaco threatened to push the match to five games when it cut an 18-9 Economedes lead to 19-17 in the fourth game. But, the Lady Jaguars regrouped and finished out strong.

"They are a hard-hitting group," Ortega said of the Lady Panthers, "and very scrappy."

McALLEN ROWE DEF. LAREDO ALEXANDER

At Roma, Lakeisha Allen had 14 kills and 15 digs to lead Rowe, which rallied for a 22-25, 25-11, 25-9, 25-20 victory in a Class 5A bi-district playoff. Rowe avenged a bi-district loss to Alexander from a year ago.

The Lady Warriors (28-8) will face PSJA High in the area round later this week.

Victtoria Turner added 11 kills, four blocks and nine digs, Felicia Cano had 18 digs, Brittanie Best 10 kills and 10 blocks (four solo) and Jammi Esquivel 37 assists. Alexander, which dropped from first place to fourth in District 29-5A when it lost its last two district matches, finished at 22-9.

McALLEN MEMORIAL DEF. LAREDO UNITED

At Zapata, Jennifer Kowalski had 10 kills, four aces and six blocks in Memorial’s 25-7, 25-17, 24-26, 25-21 Class 5A bi-district playoff. The Lady Mustangs will play the winner tonight’s match between Los Fresnos and Edinburg North in the area round.

Memorial (25-8) also had 10 kills and eight digs from Robyn McNallen and 27 assists and five aces from Chelsea Lyons.

"The girls came out and played with a lot of confidence, which they had been lacking for awhile," Memorial coach Lorena Lopez said. "It was good to see that in a bi-district match."

FLOUR BLUFF DEF. MISSION HIGH

At Mission, Kindall Stephens had 12 kills, 10 assists and eight digs for Flour Bluff in a 25-7, 25-14, 25-16 Class 4A bi-district playoff. Brandy Stinchcomb had 19 assists, Angelica Montano seven kills, eight digs and six aces and Halley Robinson nine digs and four aces.

Mission (13-14) was led by Angela Rojas’ nine kills and two blocks. JeNeva Jimenez had three kills, Bernise Ponce 11 assists, Crystal Vasquez seven digs and Melissa Montonya four digs.

SAN ISIDRO DEF. BRUNI

At Falfurrias, the Lady Tigers outlasted Bruni 25-14, 15-25, 25-14, 21-25, 15-12 in a Class A bi-district playoff. San Isidro (18-7) will next face Distict 29-A champion Shiner, ranked 12th in the state.