HARLINGEN — As San Benito head volleyball coach Ruby Medina strolled off the court after the Lady Greyhounds’ match at Harlingen South on Tuesday night, she did not look happy.
By looking at her, one would never have believed that her team had just won a hard-fought match and, as a result, improved to 2-2 in District 32-6A play.
“A win is a win and we’ll take it, but I really believe that we could have played a whole lot better,” she said after her squad’s 25-20, 25-17, 19-15, 25-17 victory over the Lady Hawks, who fell to 0-4 in conference action.
“We let them back in the game and to me that’s nerve-wracking.”
Leading the match 2-0, the Lady ’Hounds appeared loose and ready to sweep the Lady Hawks as Game 3 got underway.
The Lady Hawks had different plans, however, as they came out inspired and fought every step of the way.
With the set tied at 16, the Lady Hawks slowly began to pull away behind some strong hitting by Allyson Benavides and finally iced the game at 25-19 after a nice tip in by Sienna Sierra.
The Game 3 win electrified the hometown crowd and energized the Lady Hawks, who had not won a set in their three previous district matches.
Unfortunately, the momentum didn’t immediately carry over into the fourth set as the Lady Greyhounds regained their composure and raced out to a 23-11 advantage before South, once again, tried to make a comeback and force a Game 5.
Behind some more hard- hitting shots by Benavides, the Lady Hawks scored six straight points to cut the lead to 23-17. However, it wasn’t enough as the Lady ’Hounds eventually found the two points they needed to close out the contest and send their fans home with smiles on their faces.
San Benito was led by Crystal Ibarra, who finished the match with 14 kills, Alysa Naranjo, who had 12 kills, and Larisa Garcia, who had 46 digs.
Up next for the Lady ’Hounds is a home game Saturday against Brownsville Hanna, who dropped to 3-1 after a loss to Los Fresnos on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Lady Hawks are at Weslaco High.
