San Marcos shows ‘heart’ through first week of season

The Lady Rattlers’ 2019 season officially got underway last week, playing at two events and finishing with a 4-6 record.

San Marcos made its debut on Aug. 6 at a dual match with Bastrop and Wimberley, with the latter serving as the host team. The Lady Rattlers split the series, sweeping the Lady Bears, 3-0, then falling to the Lady Texans, 3-1.

The team then traveled to Pearland to compete in the John Turner Classic. San Marcos was swept in both of its opening games against Denton Guyer and Houston St. John’s on Thursday, 2-0, but bounced back in the final game of the day by defeating Montgomery, 2-1. The next day saw the Lady Rattlers pick up a 2-1 win over Houston Alief Elsik and two 2-1 losses against Port Neches-Groves and Richmond Foster. The final day of the tournament resulted in a 2-0 win over Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill and a 2-1 loss to Dickinson.

Senior outside hitter Jordan Helbig leads the team thus far with 81 kills through 28 sets played. Junior outside hitter Layla Diaz trails closely behind with 79 kills. Junior setter Julia Antu dished out a team-high 15 assists. Junior middle blocker Samantha Booth leads the way with eight total blocks. Senior libero Julia Gutierrez racked up 189 digs and is serving at a flawless 100 percent on 73 attempts.

“It was a good first week,” head coach Michelle Moreno said. “The girls competed in 10 matches last week and showed a lot of heart and hustle, which is definitely something we can build on. We used several different lineups due to a couple of injuries, and players stepped up. This team works hard and doesn't back down from a challenge. We lost some close matches this weekend and almost every game we played went to three sets, which I feel revealed their determination and effort.”

San Marcos heads to Austin on Tuesday for a match with Austin Crockett at 7 p.m. The team will also compete at the Bastrop ISD Tournament this weekend, beginning Thursday.