WESLACO — It has been a long time coming for the San Benito Greyhounds’ volleyball program.
The Greyhounds won their first outright district championship since Ruby Medina began coaching at the school 28 years ago, 24 years as the head coach. Medina looked in the records and could not find the last time the program has won a district title, she said.
San Benito defeated Weslaco High 25-13, 25-17, 25-20 on Tuesday night to win the District 32-6A title at Weslaco High with a record of 8-2 in district play.
“It is just an amazing feeling,” Medina said as her eyes watered. “I have never been in this position. It feels really good that my hard work paid off. All the girls really accepted it and believed that they could win. They did it. They deserve it.”
Medina said her team was calm before the match, prepared and did what it was told. That was the recipe all season for the Greyhounds.
Medina praised the team’s ball control skills. San Benito has a great defense that delivered against teams with talented hitters.
“I believed in my heart,” Medina said of her team’s title chances before the season. “I told them I really believed we could do it, this is the team that could go far, but you have to believe it. They have so much talent and are unique in their own way.”
Weslaco High tested San Benito during the third set. Panthers middle Elizabeth Craig found success at the net to give her team a 16-15 lead, but that was the last lead for the home team.
San Benito outside hitter Alyssa Gonzalez has been one of the key players this season offensively, and her kill — set up by Cassandra Guzman — gave the Greyhounds a 17-16 lead that they saw out.
Gonzalez finished the second set with the score 24-17 after the Greyhounds started the match with tremendous efforts on defense led by the likes of Gonzalez, Jakeida Ibarra, Lesly Camacho, Hannah Rodriguez and the middles at the net.
“We fought through so much as a team,” Rodriguez said. “Sickness, injuries and stuff. We have gone through so much, and the fact that we actually won makes it crazy, especially because I am a senior.”
Gonzalez picked up kills early as she and the team looked composed early to pick up the double-digit win in the first set.
The season is not over for the Panthers and their head coach Gavin Rudder.
Rudder helped lead a team that has not made the playoffs since 2019 in his first year.
“I am happy with the season we had,” he said. “They had to learn a new system and learn kind of on the fly. The way they responded, I knew I had athletes and it would be easy for them.”
Rudder said he expected to make the playoffs but was unsure how his team would compete against the top teams in district. Weslaco High defeated San Benito and Brownsville Rivera earlier in the season to help them pull out a 5-5 record and a playoff match against PSJA High.
San Benito is set to face Mission High in the first round.
