East Valley Volleyball: Lyford, Brownsville Rivera advance Monday

The volleyball playoffs got started Monday with a few East Valley teams in action.

The No. 21 Lyford Lady Bulldogs, runners-up in District 31-3A, swept Brownsville Jubilee (District 32-3A third place) 25-23, 26-24, 25-18 at Harlingen Jubilee to advance to the second round.

“It was a very tight match,” Lyford coach Rebekah Perez said. “It’s always good to have that, especially in the playoff atmosphere. We really had our work cut out for us.

“They’re a very talented team, so it was a good matchup for us. I was impressed with how we played and to see the kids are still hungry after a very, very long season. They still have that fight in them.”

Perez said Jubilee went on a big scoring run during the opening set that could have rattled her team. But she saw improved mental toughness and solid decision making from her squad, which ended up being the difference and helping the win.

Lyford will play No. 25 Bishop in the area round at 7 p.m. Thursday at Kingsville King.

“I was definitely super proud of the kids that they were a lot more mentally tough (Monday) than what I’ve seen throughout the season,” Perez said. “I don’t know if it’s because of what’s at stake, you lose and you go home. To see that mindset, especially from our seniors, was nice. We had some seniors that have been kind of quiet really show up (Monday), so that was exciting to see. … We’re pretty pumped. We know (Bishop is) a pretty great team, so we’re excited to play against them.”

The No. 25 Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats, who went undefeated to clinch their first District 32-4A championship, had their season come to an end in the opening round. Rio Hondo lost to Robstown (fourth place in District 31-4A) 25-19, 27-25, 26-24 in Falfurrias.

Also in Class 6A on Monday, Brownsville Rivera (second in District 32-6A) rallied to defeat Edinburg Vela in four games, 13-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-14.