LADY FALCONS VICTORIOUS

LADY FALCONS SPLIT GAMES, CLINCH 32-6A DISTRICT CO-CHAMPIONSHIP

by Wade Sales

LOS FRESNOS—On October 28th, the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons continued their run of annual volleyball excellence, wrapping up a share of the District 32-6A title for the 6th time in the last 7 years, defeating the Hanna Lady Eagles in 4 sets in front of a raucous home crowd, 25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 25-12. The Lady Falcons teamwork was on display again, as numerous girls filled up the stat sheet with solid all-around performances against Hanna. This final game of the regular season became much more critical after the Lady Falcons dropped a heartbreaking match to the Brownsville Veterans Lady Chargers earlier in the week in 5 nail-bitingly close sets, 25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 26-28, 13-15. By virtue of this defeat, the Lady Falcons had to win the match against 3rd-place Hanna in order to ensure themselves a share of the title.

The Hanna game began with the festivities of Parents Night and with the bittersweet knowledge of the five seniors on the team that this was their last home game of their illustrious volleyball careers. Those seniors are Peyton Sales, Jordan Martinez, Alex Moya, Cristen Lumbreras, and Alex Cano.

Once the photos were taken and the hugs and kisses completed, the Lady Falcons got down to business. The Lady Eagles have played the Lady Falcons tough over the years, and they are the only other team in the district to win an outright district title in the past 7 years (in 2012). The teams were tied at 15 in the first set before Sam Ibarra led the Lady Falcons with 3 powerhouse kills to stretch the lead to 4 points before a Hanna timeout. The teams traded points down the stretch before the Lady Falcons closed out a narrow 25-22 win in set 1. It was more of the same in set 2, with Jackie Kingsbury and Alex Cano each contributing 4 kills in this set and the Lady Eagles having some uncharacteristic hitting errors providing easy points for Los Fresnos.

The Lady Eagles came out firing in the third set, with Pamela Ellis spearheading the attack, contributing 6 kills in the third set alone. The Lady Falcon defense let down in the third set, with passing, setting, and hitting errors all leading to a rare, 18-25 set loss for the Lady Falcons. The loss of a set seemed to perk up the Lady Falcons. Led by Peyton Sales’s 12 assists and Ibarra’s 5 kills in the 4th set, the Lady Falcons stormed out to a 16-6 lead and were never threatened, clinching their share of the district championship and leading to a tremendous celebration on the court and the presentation of the District Championship trophy by Los Fresnos High School Principal Ronnie Rodriguez.

Sales led the team with 34 assists (724 assists on the season), 3 kills, and 2 more serving aces to add to her team-leading total. The Lady Falcon hitters were out in full force again, with Ibarra adding another 14 kills and 6 blocks to her team-leading totals in both categories (384 kills, 148 blocks). Joseline Caraveo, Kingsbury, and Cano all had solid hitting nights with kill totals of 12, 11, and 7, respectively. According to the high school website Maxpreps.com, the Lady Falcons are currently the only Rio Grande Valley team that has 4 different players with over 200 kills on the season. Sales is also leading the Rio Grande Valley in total assists and assists per sets played (724 assists in 103 sets played).

The Lady Falcons have finished the regular season with a 33-10 overall record, 13-1 in district play, and a 32-6A district co-championship. In more exciting news, the Lady Falcons won the coin flip and will host their fellow co-champions, Brownsville Veterans, in a playoff seeding game the Saturday before the UIL State Volleyball Playoffs begin on November 3-4. Their first-round playoff opponent from District 31-6A has yet to be determined. Congratulations to Coach Woods and the Lady Falcons on a great regular season and good luck in the playoffs on your way to State!