By: Constancio Martinez Jr
This Tuesday night, the Port Isabel ECHS Lady Tarpons hosted the Hidalgo ECHS Lady Pirates in a district volleyball matchup.
The Lady Tarpons had previously swept the Lady Pirates (3-0) in early October, and another win would help solidify their third-place standing in the district as the regular season winds down.
As the match got underway, PI’s Precious Vasquez opened with an ace to the corner of the court. The Lady Tarpons then went on a quick 4-0 run before Hidalgo gained possession. The Lady Pirates fought back to make it 4-3, but a serve out of bounds gave the ball right back to Port Isabel.
With Emma Shukitt serving, the Lady Tarpons extended their lead to 7-3. However, a series of miscues by PI allowed the Lady Pirates to tie the game at 8-8, prompting a timeout from the Tarpons’ bench.
Coming out of the break, the struggles continued for PI as Hidalgo jumped ahead 14-8. Down 17-12, Julieta Ruiz delivered back-to-back aces that forced Hidalgo to call a timeout, with their lead trimmed to 17-14.
After the timeout, PI’s Nadia Flaig came alive at the net with a string of powerful spikes, helping the Lady Tarpons tie the game at 19-19. With Shukitt back at the service line, Port Isabel took the lead and began to pull away. Flaig’s fifth kill of the set led to another Hidalgo timeout, with PI leading 22-19.
After a shaky start, the Lady Tarpons turned things around in the back half of the set to claim a 25-20 win — a strong recovery.
Hidalgo answered back in the second set, pulling off a 25-19 win to even the match. But the Lady Tarpons regrouped and took the next two sets, 25-22 and 25-19, winning the best-of-five match by a score of 3-1.
The Lady Tarpons will be on the road for their next match, taking on Jubilee Brownsville on Saturday, October 25, at 12 p.m.
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