Rio Grande City collects road win over La Feria

By EDWARD SEVERN, Special to RGVSports.com

LA FERIA — The Rio Grande City Lady Rattlers defeated the La Feria Lionettes 23-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-16 in a non-district matchup Saturday in La Feria.

The Lady Rattlers dropped a close first set to the Lionettes 25-23. The Lionettes started strong and jumped to a 10-4 lead with great play from do-it-all senior Alani Garza. Senior Angelina Trevino also contributed in the set and all match around the net.

The Lady Rattlers made it a close first set as both teams went back and forth late, and carried the momentum into the second set. Alissa Molina was big all day for Rio Grande City with some big kills.

Rae Ann Cortinas and Molina hit the ball well during the second set as the Lady Rattlers opened a 17-13 lead in the set. La Feria hung around until a big kill by Cortinas finished the set to level the contest.

Rio Grande City took an early 6-3 lead in third set with some kills from Molina. La Feria’s Trevino responded with kills and blocks, and the two sides went go back and forth.

“I had a good performance,” Trevino said. “I would rather us win and, of course, there is always room for improvement. I am glad I was getting those hits and finding the ball, doing what I can to get us points.

“I hope we can push forward and use this as a learning experience. We need to learn from our mistakes and build back from there.”

The Lady Rattlers went on a run after La Feria tied the set at 16. A 9-2 run and a kill from Isabela Salinas gave Rio Grande City the set and the advantage in the match.

It was all Rio Grande City during the fourth and final set, going up early 11-4 and not relinquishing the big lead. Dalissa Porras and Deyla Hinojosa played well for the Lady Rattlers. Porras set up her teammates often, and Hinojosa had some good hits from the sides.

The Lady Rattlers were also stout defensively and won many points they probably should not have because of some great hustle plays from the libero position.

Both teams played well with district play right around the corner. Rio Grande City improved to 14-6 on the season, and with district starting soon they hope to compete for a district title.

“The girls are getting a lot of momentum coming in,” Lady Rattlers coach Elena Hinojosa said. “We are glad that they are fighting for every point, they are not giving up and they are getting stronger.”

La Feria held its own and was the better team at some points of the match against another team in a higher classification. The Lionettes will play La Joya Palmview in their final non-district match of the season Tuesday.