Volleyball Playoff Notebook: Edinburg North enjoying playoff run
Edinburg North makes history each time it wins a match.
The latest occurrence happened on Saturday when the Lady Cougars, who finished fifth in Valley Freedom Newspapers’ final regular season rankings, swept No. 3 McAllen Memorial to win their first-ever area championship.
That victory was the Lady Cougars’ 32nd this season, a school record. Edinburg North won its first district championship in program history when it won 31-5A with a 14-0 record. The Lady Cougars also had defeated longtime nemesis, Harlingen South, for the first-time ever.
“No matter what happens from this point, everything is a first for us,” Edinburg North’s senior outside hitter Aleena Cubriel said. “No one thought we could do this and get this far, except ourselves, our coaches and our parents. We can go as far as we want to go.”
The Lady Cougars will get a chance for another first – qualifying for the Region IV-5A tournament – if they defeat Laredo Alexander in a regional quarterfinal set for 7 o’clock tonight in Roma. The winner advances to the regional tournament and plays San Antonio Reagan or New Braunfels in the regional semifinals at 8 p.m. Friday at St. Mary’s in San Antonio.
TRANSFORMATION
It wasn’t the big things that were hurting Harlingen South early in the season, it was the small ones. But, the Lady Hawks committed so many small mistakes, they added up to big trouble.
That didn’t deter first-year head coach Lupe Garza. She knew she had a good team, and those mistakes were correctable.
Harlingen South isn’t making as many of those mistakes anymore. Not coincidentally, the Lady Hawks find themselves in the third round of the playoffs. Unranked Harlingen South (22-7) plays at No. 1 Los Fresnos (35-2) in a Region IV-5A quarterfinal at 7 o’clock tonight.
“We gave away a lot of freebies – missed serves, shanked balls, you name it,” Harlingen South senior middle blocker Sydney Herrera said. “It all came together on the fly, and it’s because we’ve been able to cut out all the small mistakes.”
The Lady Hawks have overcome several other obstacles. For starters, Garza, an assistant, was elevated to head coach after Lady Hawks’ longtime coach Steve Lunsford, who retired from coaching in the offseason. Harlingen South was also in rebuilding mode after returning just four letterwinners.
As a result, the Lady Hawks were toppled from their throne as District 31-5A champions by Edinburg North. Harlingen South had won each district championship since 2006 until the Lady Cougars claimed it this year.
“Ever since I could remember, Harlingen South has been known as having the best volleyball program in the Valley,” Herrera said. “It’s turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We are not used to fighting from behind, and that pushed us to become so much better.”
The postseason has rejuvenated the Lady Hawks. That was no more evident than last Friday when the Lady Hawks toppled No. 2 Sharyland in the area round.
“Once we hit the playoffs, everyone’s record was 0-0,” Herrera said. “That really got into our heads. We didn’t have to look at our record anymore. Once we climbed over that mountain, it was a whole new view.”
CHASING HISTORY
In coach Becky Woods’ successful tenure at Los Fresnos, one thing that has eluded her is a trip to a regional tournament. Granted, for most of Woods’ tenure, the Lady Falcons competed below Class 5A, where there weren’t regional tournaments until recently.
Still, Woods has believed she had teams talented enough at the 5A level to earn a trip to San Antonio, site of the Region IV-5A tournament.
With a victory against Harlingen South tonight, that will change. Tonight’s winner will play either Corpus Christi King or San Antonio Johnson in the first round of the regional tournament (regional semifinal round) at 6 p.m. Friday at St. Mary’s.
Although Los Fresnos has never advanced to a regional tournament, the Lady Falcons have made it to the regional semifinal round twice before in 1991 and 1996 when they were a 4A program.
David Hinojosa covers high school volleyball for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com
