The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers took advantage of San Benito’s patchwork lineup due to injuries to sweep the Lady Greyhounds in non-district volleyball action Tuesday at the Brownsville Veterans gym.
The scores were 25-13, 25-15, 27-25.
Missing four players, the Lady Greyhounds had only seven players available to play against the Lady Chargers.
The Lady Chargers also were missing a player, who was in the hospital, so the healthiest team was the one that prevailed.
“We have a lot of new faces,” said Lady Chargers coach Elizabeth Mares, whose squad was the runner-up finisher in District 32-5A last season. “I’m trying different rotations right now to see who will step up because it’s still real early in the season. I’m just trying to figure out who is going to do the job in certain places for us.”
San Benito couldn’t stay with the Lady Chargers during the first two games. But the Lady Greyhounds showed their resolve during the third set by going up 5-1 and 6-2 before allowing Brownsville Veterans to come alive and lead by seven points, 22-15, on a ball that sailed long for San Benito.
The Lady Greyhounds battled back to tie the score at 24 on an ace by Cidney Castillo and at 25 on a tip by Ysabel Soria. From there, a San Benito serve that carried out and a hit into the net by the Lady Greyhounds enabled the Lady Chargers to win the last game 27-25 and sweep the match.
“(Because of our injuries) we just put whoever we could out there (on the court),” San Benito coach Rudy Medina said. “In the beginning, there was some hesitation (by our girls) because they’re not used to playing with so many people out.
“They adjusted and did better in the third set,” Medina added. “I really didn’t have any substitutions (to call upon). At first, some of the girls were trying to find their places on the court because they usually don’t play as much as they did tonight.”
Soria led San Benito with eight kills, while teammate Devaney Castillo added five kills and three aces. Also for the Lady Greyhounds, Zoe Betancourt had four kills and five blocks.
For Brownsville Veterans, Hannah Edelstein had five aces and three kills. Also for the Lady Chargers, Valeria Sumaya had eight kills, and Dominique Mena had seven kills and six digs. Also for the Lady Chargers, Sarah Gomez had three aces and five digs, and Daniela Espinosa had 11 assists and five digs.
“I have all my defense coming back, so I think that’s a solid point for us,” Mares said. “The offensive aspect of the game is something I think we need to continue to work on because the defense is there from last year, which is good for us. We’re solid there, and hopefully that continues.”
San Benito and Brownsville Veterans next will be playing at the Sharyland High Tournament that starts Thursday and runs through Saturday.
