Sonora Celebrates New Coach's Birthday With Win Over State Champ Bronte

SONORA, TX-- The Sonora Lady Broncos gave first year head coach Judi Harris the perfect birthday gift in her home debut: a win over a defending state champion.

“I told them all I wanted was a win. Please give me a win,” Harris laughed. “It feels really good to start off in this gym with a win.”

The Lady Broncos sputtered early on against the Bronte Lady Longhorns and dropped the first set 25-17. They would storm back to win the next three sets to take the match.

Highlighting that comeback in Harris’ eyes was senior Mary Kyle Johnson. Harris said the Pearland tournament the Lady Broncos competed in “really tested them” and that they didn’t get to use their anchor like they wanted to. Johnson recorded 23 kills in the four-set match to lead the team.

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Junior Brae Harris led the team in hitting with a .533 clip on 15 attempts.

“Coming off that Pearland tournament...we saw some of our weaknesses,” Harris said. “We worked on that in practice. That practice where we worked on those things really showed in this game.”

In the third set of the match, Bronte held a commanding lead and looked like they would win that set. The Lady Broncos stormed back to win the set 25-23 and shift the momentum in their favor.

“It did [shift momentum],” Harris said. “I think Bronte also got tired...We capitalized on that. We were able push forward and keep moving.”

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Part of pushing forward for the Lady Broncos was their transition, which got better as the match went along.

“We practiced that transition,” Harris said. “To see them actually do it in a game was pretty impressive. Then it worked and they saw that and it lit a fire underneath them. So, I hope we continue that.”

Sonora improves to 4-8 while Bronte falls to 2-1. The Lady Broncos will next face Harris’ old employer, Hondo, on Aug. 17. Bronte will be in action at the Nita Vannoy Invitational in San Angelo this Friday and Saturday.