Diamondbacks fall to Bulldogs, Rattlers tie for first
Tuesday night, the Pioneer Diamondbacks traveled to McAllen High School to take on the Bulldogs in a high-seeded District 31 volleyball matchup. The two teams, both known for their strong defenses, were ready to battle it out. The Diamondbacks took an early lead in the first set, with their defense contributing to their points, but the Bulldogs fought back and tied the game at 19. This set the stage for some long rallies, with the Bulldogs eventually pulling ahead to win the set 25-20.
With the Bulldogs leading 1-0, the Diamondbacks knew they had to respond quickly in the second set. It was a close one, with both teams trading shots back and forth. The Diamondbacks defense answered the Bulldogs offensive attacks, and the Bulldogs responded in turn. It was neck-and-neck until the score reached 24-24, forcing a win-by-two situation. The Diamondbacks ultimately kept their composure and closed out the set 26-24, tying the game at one set each.
The third set began with the Diamondbacks jumping out to an early lead thanks to contributions from Izabella Cano, Hailey Botello, Florencia Curiel, Natalia Gonzalez, and Itzel Hernandez. Their hustle on both offense and defense was on display throughout the night, but despite their best efforts, the Bulldogs managed to pull ahead late in the set. The Bulldogs took the third set 25-22, pushing the match to a 2-1 lead in their favor.
: Florencia Curiel, #2 of Pioneer, sets the ball for return in tonight’s game vs McHi. Progress Times photo by Mario Magallon
The Bulldogs came out strong in the fourth set by taking an early lead and never looking back. The Diamondbacks, despite putting everything they had into the match, struggled to keep up with the Bulldogs relentless offense. The Bulldogs won the final set 25-12 and walked away with a 3-1 victory.
With this loss, the Diamondbacks fell to 9-4 on the season, while the Bulldogs maintained their first-place standing in District 31-5A with an 11-1 record.
Stats for the Diamondbacks: Florencia Curiel: 26 digs, 1 assist. Hailey Botello: 36 assists, 13 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace. Natalia Gonzalez: 13 digs. Izabella Cano: 15 digs, 11 kills, 1 ace. Danica Gonzalez: 14 digs, 1 kill, 2 aces. Elle Hill: 6 kills, 4 digs, 1 block. Itzel Hernandez: 9 kills, 1 block. Scarlet Verjel: 8 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace, 2.5 blocks. Ava Saenz: 3 kills, 2 digs, 1.5 blocks. Sofia Chapa: 2 digs
After the game, Progress Times caught up with Hailey Botello as she told us about the tough loss and about what lies ahead for the team. “The hustle we had was amazing tonight, so I hope we can carry that into our next game. There were a couple of errors that we had, but honestly, our aggressiveness has gotten so much better. We’re going to take that into our next game. Our aggressiveness, we’re going to serve tougher, we’re going to execute good shots.” Botello capped that off by saying, “Wins build our confidence, and we just have to take care of the little stuff.”
Head coach Laura Cavazos also spoke with Progress Times about the game. “Going into these last two weeks of matches, we knew it would take a toll on us. We knew that we had to be mentally and physically prepared to play the best teams in our district,” Cavazos explained. “I thought the girls played well tonight on defense. There were great spurts of consistency on defense. We just let up a little bit in the third set, and we couldn’t close it out, and that made a huge difference going into the fourth.”
Despite the loss, Cavazos expressed pride in her team’s effort, “Unfortunately, that’s just the way it goes sometimes, but I’m proud of the girls’ effort tonight.”
Looking ahead to their next matchup against the Sharyland Rattlers, Cavazos said, “When going up against a good defensive team, we have to start looking at putting the ball away sooner. We don’t necessarily want long rallies. We want to find the spots that are open a little faster so we don’t put that much pressure on the defense. Overall, we’re going to take a lot away from this game and work on them to get us prepared.”
As previously noted, the Diamondbacks next challenge will be against the Sharyland Rattlers, who are currently tied for first place in District 31-5A with the Bulldogs. The Rattlers are riding an 11-match winning streak after a dominant 3-0 victory over PSJA Southwest.
Progress Times got the chance to speak to Rattlers head coach Lydia de Leon. After their win against PSJA Southwest, de Leon said, “We served really well. I think that’s what drove us away in our sets. We served aggressively.”
De Leon also looked ahead to the game against the Diamondbacks, “Looking forward, we want to keep that same consistency. We want to be aggressive on the net as well with blocking and our defense. We can’t take them lightly. They had a really good game against McHi. Kudos to them. That shows us that we need to show up against them.”
Elle Hill, #5 of Pioneer, goes up to block her opponent from McHI. Progress Times photo by Mario Magallon
The last time the Diamondbacks and Rattlers met, it was a tough four-set battle, with the Rattlers coming out on top 3-1. As the end of the season approaches, racking up wins is crucial for both teams. De Leon commented, “We’re looking for a long playoff run, so we want to make sure that we’re using these games to our advantage to stay competitive and not get comfortable where we’re at.”
The Rattlers success this season has been led by standout performances from Kenisha Martinez, Kassandra de la Garza, and Pamela Pena. Martinez has 421 kills and 397 digs, de la Garza has 81 aces, 527 assists, and 269 digs, while Pena has 298 kills, 317 digs, and 44 aces. This talented trio, along with strong support from the rest of the team, has made the Rattlers one of the top teams in the district.
The highly anticipated matchup between the Diamondbacks and the Rattlers will take place at noon tomorrow at Pioneer High School. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Progress Times wishes the best of luck to these two teams as they face against each other and as they close out their district seasons.