By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On Thursday, September 2, the (4-16) PI ECHS Lady Tarpons hosted the (3-9) Falfurrias Lady Jerseys in a non-district match. The Lady Jerseys were looking to rebound from their loss to Valley View, while the Lady Tarpons aimed to start a winning streak after capturing their bracket tournament the previous week.
The first set started off slow as the teams traded points. With PI up 3-2, Nadia Flaig lined up to serve. As the ball was returned, Emma Shukitt tipped it over, landing on the opponent’s court for the point. Shukitt continued to dominate at the net, scoring three consecutive points for PI, including two hard spikes. The Lady Tarpons jumped out to a 6-2 lead before turning the ball over.
A few plays later, with Rachel Martinez serving, the Lady Tarpons went on a 3-0 run, forcing Falfurrias to call a timeout, with PI now leading 10-3.
The teams went on to trade points until a Falfurrias serving error made it 14-6 PI. With Kimberlie Estrada serving, the Lady Tarpons went on another 3-0 run, forcing Falfurrias to call another timeout.
Down 22-10, the Lady Jerseys continued to fight, leading to some long rallies. PI eventually closed out the set 25-12 with Isabel Ochoa serving. Falfurrias picked up a point here and there, but were mostly outplayed by Port Isabel in the first set.
The next sets were more competitive. The Lady Tarpons won the second set 25-20, but Falfurrias responded by taking the third set 25-20.
A spike by Flaig closed out an exciting fourth set, 25-22, giving Port Isabel the victory in the best-of-five series.
The PI ECHS Lady Tarpons fell to the Weslaco Lady Panthers 3-0 on September 6. The Lady Tarpons will look to bounce back on Saturday, September 13, when they travel to Hanna to take on the Lady Eagles at 12 p.m.
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