BROWNSVILLE — It was a celebratory evening for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers as they honored seniors that helped win multiple District 32-5A titles and earned individual achievements, but it was the Mercedes Tigers that ended up celebrating a win.
The Tigers defeated the Chargers 15-25, 25-23, 25-11, 25-21 on Tuesday at Brownsville Veterans High School in a pivotal District 32-5A meeting.
The Tigers looked like they were destined to win as the match waned. Mercedes’ hitters continuously found their spots or kept the Chargers out-of-system in the latter sets.
Mercedes was down 12-5 in the fourth before eventually taking 21-19 lead thanks to great serving, strong defense and their hard hitting. Tigers outside hitters Jackie Bibian and Leah Adame killed four of the last six points to win the set and the match.
“We needed this win,” Mercedes head coach Olga Adame said. “The girls came out and fought every point. They knew they had to get this win because of the position we are in right now. Their goal is to get to the playoffs, and they came out and fought.”
The Tigers’ win ties them with Brownsville Veterans at 11-5 in district. Edcouch-Elsa came into the night 10-5 and was playing against Donna High. Mercedes, Brownsville Veterans and Edcouch-Elsa are fighting for the last two spots with two matches remaining after Tuesday night.
Brownsville Veterans and Mercedes split the meetings. A third game could be possible if they end up tied when district play ends next Tuesday.
Mercedes captain De’Asia Brown set up Adame and Bibian all night, along with middles Hayden Ledesma and Isabella Parker.
“I really did good on checking their middles and helping running my offense,” Brown said. “My hitters were really good. My middles were on all game. My outside, (Adame), she was great. She was getting us those points.”
Mercedes opened a 13-3 lead in the third and never looked back. The Tigers had momentum after coming back in the second set. Adame and Ledesma picked up kills to help come back and win the set late.
The Chargers came out strong in the first set after celebrating seniors Graciela Avila, Paulina Ramirez, Makayla Lerma, Montserrat De Los Santos, Alondra Calzada and Kassy Garcia. The team celebrated Ramirez reaching 1,500 assists in her four-year varsity career.
“It has been an incredible journey,” Ramirez said. “Since my sophomore year, we have been playing a 5-1. I think that helped a lot, but I would not be able to do that without my great passes and hitters that were able to get that kill every single time.”
Garcia, Avilla and De Los Santos came up with numerous kills for Ramirez, but it was not enough.
“I think we fought,” Ramirez said. “It was just our little mistakes that got to us. Our errors did not help us this game.”
Mercedes faces Donna North and Brownsville Veterans takes on Brownsville Pace on Saturday.
