BROWNSVILLE — Another weekend of volleyball tournament action kicked off Thursday, including two tournaments being hosted in the East Valley.
Twelve teams, including all six BISD schools and a JV squad from the host school Hanna, began pool play Thursday. Hanna’s varsity squad took the top seed in Pool 1, winning both contests against Brownsville Lopez and Juan Diego Academy. Lopez finished No. 2 with a 1-1 record.
In Pool 3, the Pace Lady Vikings picked up wins over PSJA Southwest and Hanna JV to take the No. 1 seed. Hanna JV finished second, and Southwest took the third seed.
Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann was happy to see his team “cut out some unforced errors” and stay focused during its matches. He felt outside hitter Aliyah Castillo and libero Rianna Trevino were the standouts in Day 1 for the Lady Eagles. Hagemann was excited to see Hanna’s JV squad play well as the program christened the new gym by hosting the tournament.
“They had some strong moments in the games today. We played against a town rival, Lopez, and I’m glad we were able to finish in three sets. Lopez has a very strong team this year, and I think our girls stood up to them very well,” Hagemann said. “(The JV’s performance) was a very pleasant surprise. I’m very proud of them. I think the JV players did a great job filling that extra spot in the tournament. …
“We went from the oldest honorable gym in the Valley to having the best and most beautiful gym. It feels good. The kids deserve it,” he added. “To be hosting the tournament, I think it’s the first BISD varsity tournament, we’re very proud. We want to build it, and we are very grateful for every team that joined.”
Brownsville Veterans Memorial opened its campaign aiming for a second consecutive tournament championship match with a 25-8, 25-21, 25-15 sweep over Corpus Christi Ray. Later, the Lady Chargers defeated San Perlita 25-8, 25-18, 25-6 to take Pool 2’s top seed.
The Class 1A Lady Trojans held their own against Brownsville Veterans, led by Summer Terry and Elyssa Nieto. They covered the court well and got under BVM’s booming hits and well-placed tips. San Perlita took the Lady Chargers deep into rallies, but BVM came away with points thanks to its stronger offense.
Brownsville Veterans setter Alex Torres used all of her pins and kept San Perlita’s defense on its heels by distributing the ball well. Lady Chargers coach Elizabeth Mares challenged her team to use the unexpected play after controlling the opening set, and once the players got back on the same page, they limited attack errors during the third set to cruise to victory.
“I’m proud of their composure, because we had some long rallies. (San Perlita’s) a good defensive team, and they were picking everything up,” Mares said. “What I like about this team is it’s very diverse. I can switch the lineup a lot, and I think that’s important and it was good to see today. Tournaments are good for that, and the girls are responding.”
San Perlita took the No. 2 seed in Pool 2 thanks to an early four-set victory over C.C. Ray. Hagemann was impressed with the way the Lady Trojans competed against bigger schools and added to the strength of the eight-team field.
Brownsville Rivera defeated Brownsville Porter in straight sets (27-25, 25-10, 25-12) to kick off Pool 4 and also swept Hidalgo to take the No. 1 seed.
The Porter Cowgirls covered the court well, diving for tips and hustling after rogue passes to sustain rallies. But their serve receive struggled against Rivera’s tough serving. Often playing out of system as rallies went on, Porter was left sending over free balls too frequently, and the Lady Raiders took advantage. Alondra Garza and Emily Morales were solid attackers for Rivera, and Brianna Franco was a standout for Porter with a good presence on the net.
Porter defeated Hidalgo to take the second seed in Pool 4. The BISD tournament will continue today at Hanna with another dose of pool play, with matchups determined by Thursday’s seeding.
In Port Isabel, the Lady Tarpons are hosting the Volley at the Beach tournament. Teams in Pool 1 — Rio Hondo, Santa Rosa, Brownsville IDEA Riverview and Brownsville St. Joseph — opened the tournament Thursday.
Pool play will continue today with the second group comprised of La Feria, IDEA North Mission, San Isidro and Port Isabel. Teams will be seeded for the bracket championship scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.
