HARLINGEN — It was almost too easy for the Harlingen Lady Cardinals.
Almost.
Game 1 of their non-district home match against the Donna Bravettes on Tuesday ended so quickly that many of the fans in attendance were still buying refreshments at the concession stand when Game 2 got underway.
However, after the Lady Red Birds’ impressive opening-set victory, the Bravettes composed themselves and suddenly the match was on.
Sort of.
While Donna did indeed make the match more competitive – especially down the stretch in Game 3 – Harlingen still walked away with a 25-4, 25-13, 25-23 win to push their overall record to 8-4.
“In games 1 and 2, we took care of business. But in that third game we knew we needed to take care of business, but we have been struggling with putting teams away,” said Harlingen head coach Joslynn Torres.
“We struggle with that mentally and it’s all mental because we have the talent, but we have to overcome the lack of mental toughness.”
ERRORS: Numerous miscues, mishits and faults hurt the Bravettes, especially in the first set. While the Lady Cards’ front line – led by Taegan Dickey, Monique Gonzalez and Yazmine Martinez – was strong, unforced errors were the main reason Donna could never gain momentum or find a rhythm. For every point the Bravettes scored, errors often helped the Lady Cards score five or six. In fact, Donna did not string together more than four consecutive points at any point during the match.
BY ThE NUMBERS: Harlingen: Yazmine Martinez 17 kills; Kristen Kattan 16 kills; Julissa Martinez 18 digs; Alina Prado 21 assists and six kills; Ashlyn Suarez 16 assists.
UP NEXT: Both Donna and Harlingen are set to play at the Sharyland Tournament this weekend. The Lady Cards are set to open tournament action against District 32-6A foe Los Fresnos on Thursday.
