(Courtesy photo/Albert Villegas)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
BROWNSVILLE, TX—The San Benito Lady Greyhounds earned a 5-2 record at Brownsville ISD’s annual On the Border by the Sea Tournament.
Losing 0-2 to the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers in the tournament’s knockout round might have a bitter taste – for now.
If there is a silver lining, it is that they lost to a District 32-6A foe; they will still play at least two more times at home, so this loss doesn’t count toward their district standings.
Veterans (14-6 record) went to lose in a two-game sweep in the tournament title game to another district foe, the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons (11-1 record).
Some of the players have played for multiple years under their longtime Head Coach, Ruby Medina, now in her 24th year at SBHS. The athletes know her well, since some girls are now playing in their third varsity season.
“Sometimes we are going to be trailing, but we continue to hype each other up,” said senior libero Camila Guajardo.
Sitting next to another senior, setter Valeria Enriquez agrees that they follow along with what Coach Medina instills in them.
“She wants players who want to be on the court and continue to fight hard and not give up,” said Enriquez, now in her second varsity year.
Guajardo shows no fear when opponents attempt kills toward the SBHS side of the net. The second-year varsity player will usually come out leading in digs from the back court.
“It’s something I’ve become used to, and coaches help with that in practice, too; once we’re playing, I know my teammates are backing me up,” Guajardo said.
She credits the front-row presence of juniors Kalista Olivares and Annalise Rodriguez for closing out with kills or points earned.
Each of the 20 tournament teams competed over two days of pool play. The Lady ’Hounds played at Pace High School on Thursday and at Rivera High School on Friday.
On Thursday, they were swept by the Pace Lady Vikings, 25-14, 25-13, and then followed it up with consecutive sweeps over the Rio Hondo Lady ’Cats, 25-6, 25-8, and the Hidalgo Lady Pirates, 25-10, 25-6.
On Friday, they staved off the Rivera Lady Raiders (9-8 record) on their home court, winning 25-16, 19-25, 15-11; followed it up by beating IDEA Riverview, 25-12, 25-11; then a tough Skidmore-Tynan team, 25-20, 25-23.
Skidmore-Tynan was the only squad from outside the Rio Grande Valley competing in the tourney and has an 11-4 record. A week earlier, Rivera also played in an Austin ISD tournament, going 3-5 against Houston, Central, and North Texas.
GOLD BRACKET
Saturday was a full day of elimination games in the morning, culminating in the tournament title.
SBHS lost to Veterans by identical 13-24, 13-24 scores, but the games were like night and day.
The tourney quarterfinal against Veterans gave the SBHS coaching staff an ideal illustration of how the Lady ’Hounds stack up against a worthy opponent.
The first game could have gone either way, with Veterans finally taking control after a 12-12 tie.
SBHS kept the Veterans players honest with numerous back-row attacks that sometimes turned into points.
There were four ties thanks to SBHS digs that kept rallies alive. Four different Lady ‘Hounds recorded kills, including junior Isabella Gonzalez and freshman Madelynn Mendoza.
Junior Kalista Olivares was all over the court, earning kills, blocks, aces, and even a dig that eventually led to an SBHS point.
If the Lady Chargers underestimated the Lady ’Hounds, they made up for it in the second game.
The veterans took a 2-8 lead before SBHS Coach Medina called a timeout. Veterans mounted a comeback that led to 10 points later in their meeting.
One of the Lady ’Hound highlights from the decisive second game was the play of Mendoza, the lone freshman on the varsity team.
Playing alongside more seasoned players, she earned a couple of aces, a kill from the near net, and a dig. Libero Camila Guajardo, a junior, led the team in digs.
SBHS is now 8-5 on the season and played at Harlingen South on Tuesday. The Lady ’Hounds are playing their first home game of the year against the La Joya Lady Coyotes at 4 p.m., ahead of the Greyhounds’ football season opener at 7 p.m.
RIO HONDO
First-year Lady ’Cats’ Head Coach Ester Vasquez said the tournament offered a clear glimpse into which players will continue to play at the varsity level.
Rio Hondo went 2-4 in the tournament, beating Hidalgo on the first day and IDEA Riverside on the second day, both during pool play.
RHHS fell to larger schools such as San Benito, Los Fresnos, Brownsville Pace, Brownsville Hanna, and Laredo LBJ.
Regardless of the outcome, Coach Vasquez values the commitment the girls have shown on the court.
Senior hitter Izabella Zuniga has played four years at the varsity level. She and the other teammates like Vasquez’s coaching style.
Balancing the playing time between underclassmen and veteran players is not easy, Zuniga admits.
“I was in that position, and we try to teach them the game and the hard work that comes with it,” Zuniga said. “We do go fast in games and even in practices, so sometimes we have to slow the tempo a bit — to teach them.”
