Hill and Martinez combined for 26 kills — 15 and 11 respectively — most of them coming on quick middle sets from Reyes, and the Diamondbacks rolled past Edcouch-Elsa 25-12, 25-16, 25-21 in a Class 5A bi-district matchup at Sharyland Pioneer High School.
The win gave District 31-5A — Pioneer, McAllen High, McAllen Memorial and McAllen Rowe — a clean sweep over District 32-5A and four teams advancing into the area round of the playoffs. The Diamondbacks will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Flour Bluff in Bishop.
The connection started right away but was enhanced late in the second set of Saturday’s match after Edcouch-Elsa’s Kaitlyn Martin, Mia Flores and Vida Ybarra combined for a pair of double blocks and a jump-ball type tip and winner from Ybarra that sparked E-E’s 4-0 run and turn a runaway second set into a 21-14 Pioneer advantage.
That’s when Pioneer head coach Laura Cavazos took a timeout and went over the game plan with her team.
“She told us to dig deep, play our game and if they block us, they block us. We needed good passing so Natalie could run me and Maricela, too, so we could run our offense,” said Hill, a junior who also added an ace and four blocks. “Our middle game was very important and we saw that in the middle there was just a single block but on the outside there was a double block, so we wanted to get around that and work our offense and make them move because their libero was great. She was all over the place.”
The Yellow Jackets recorded another block before Reyes and Hill connected one more time and went up 2-0 in the best-of-five match.
Reyes ended the night with 37 assists and 16 digs, including several back sets that went for kills on a play known as a c-slide, when the middle blocker comes around the back side of the setter and attacks. That play proved effective on most occasions for the D-backs.
“I’ve known these girls for quite a while and you can feel their presence and their aggressiveness,” Reyes said. “They are very eager and confident to get up there and that play, I love it. It makes us see the court a little better and spreads (the opponent) out and gets us some chances at great shots.”
Edcouch-Elsa challenged to push the match into a fourth set and took a 10-9 lead in the third behind two Ybarra kills and a tip, all down the line, which was wide open until Cavazos and Pioneer took another timeout and made some adjustment.
With the score tied at 21, Lizzy Fina served out the final four points to complete the set. During that run, Martinez had a pair of kills, outside hitter Daisy Monie blocked an attack attempt and the Diamonbacks closed out the match 25-21.
Monie finished with 14 digs, six kills, three aces and a pair of blocks, while Mariana Treviño added five kills 12 digs and an ace. Libero Fina contributed 26 digs and three aces and Jada Lopez collected 13 digs for Pioneer.
“I have to credit our back line. When they push the ball in transition and give Natalie a good pass to set we are able to run our complete offense, which includes our middles,” Cavazos said. “I thought both of our girls in the middle did a phenomenal job and it ... Click here to read full article
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