SAN BENITO — It is not how you start, it is how you finish.
That was the San Benito Greyhound’s motto Saturday afternoon as they swept Brownsville Rivera 25-20, 25-19 and 25-22 in another pivotal District 32-6A meeting.
The Greyhounds were down in the middle of each set, but locked in late by not making mistakes, playing tough defense and finding their hitters to pull out the sweep against a fellow district title challenger.
San Benito head coach Ruby Medina said she expects the district to go down to the last game and that all teams can play.
“Whoever shows up to play and makes the least mistakes is going to win, bottom line,” Medina said. “I really felt like my team was ready. They showed up mentally and physically.”
Medina was proud of the character and mental fortitude her team demonstrated to come back in each set, she said. It is something that the Greyhounds have shown in other matches, she said.
“What counts is that we come back and win,” Medina. “I am just so happy with our performance today.”
San Benito was down 16-13 in the third set before scoring six-straight points while junior Alyssa Gonzalez served. Gonzalez then finished the match off with San Benito’s final two kills.
“We usually start a little down, but we always find a way to come back,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez and senior captain Jakeida Ibarra had 12 kills combined for the Greyhounds in the second set. Medina praised Ibarra and Gonzalez, as well as the middles for picking up key blocks.
San Benito libero Lesly Camacho helped pick up points with serves and along with the rest of the back row, tightened late in sets to deny kills from Brownsville Rivera’s Melanni Garza, Aryanna Erosa and Xandria Johnson.
Ibarra helped spark a late run with serves to help win the first set.
“I was really confident with my serves,” Ibarra said. “We have been practicing a lot and I feel like that really helped pick us up on the first set.”
The Greyhounds won the final seven points after a bright start to the match by Johnson and Garza.
District 32-6A Outlook
San Benito’s win moves them to 5-2 and tied with Los Fresnos after the Falcons beat Weslaco High on Saturday.
The Greyhounds beat the Falcons in their first meeting.
Brownsville Rivera and Weslaco High are now 4-3 after the losses. The Raiders and Panthers meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Brownsville with the loser moving to fourth.
San Benito takes on Harlingen High, while Los Fresnos faces Brownsville Hanna on Tuesday. The Eagles picked up their first win in district on Saturday by beating the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are 2-5 and the Eagles are 1-6.
