JV Warhorse defense stiffs Owls

Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
The JV Warhorses found themselves down early, like really early, after Hondo returned the game’s opening kickoff 81 yards that staked the Owls to a 8-0 lead after their two-point conversion. However, Devine’s defense did the trick the rest of the way keeping Hondo out of the end zone, while the Horses offense hit pay dirt twice for the 14-8 comeback victory.
“Our defense kept us in the game all night long,” said Coach Heath Poppe. “We lost the turnover battle, and usually when that happens teams lose ball games. We were faced with a ton of adversity and I give our players credit for hanging in there and fighting for the win all game long.”
The Horses are now 4-0 on the season with a game at home against Uvalde on tap Thursday.
Devine’s defense forced Hondo into several three-and-outs and stopped the Owls cold on some vital fourth down opportunities, including a couple inside the Horses 30-yard line.
The Horses had offensive chances to score in the first half thanks to their running game and a big throw and catch from quarterback Jacob Rodriguez to Mason Beaver. In the third quarter, Devine ran a trick punt-play to perfection as Alfredo Ramirez faked the punt before completing the pass to Mario Vicente, but a holding penalty negated that play.
The score remained 8-0 in favor of the Owls through halftime and two plays into the fourth quarter, before the Horses finally got the goose-egg off of their side of the scoring column.
After Hondo pinned the Horses at their own 3-yard line, Warhorse running back Joe Guerrero broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown run to finally get Devine on the Brown Chevrolet scoreboard. The two-point conversion failed, and the Horses still found themselves in fighting-back mode at 8-6.
Poppe elected to onside the ensuing kickoff with trusted kicker Aiden Salazar, which worked to perfection as teammate Riley Gutierrez recovered the loose ball at the Owl 48.
Five plays later, the Horses found the end zone and took the lead 12-8. Ty Sadler, Christian San Miguel, and Ray’sean Beaver provided just a few of the great blocks on the play as Guerrero ran 38-yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The conversion attempt failed.
The Owls had one more offensive opportunity to take the lead back, but the Devine defense rose to the occasion once again in forcing the Owls into a punt. The Horses offense was able to run out the clock from that point on to hold on to the 12-8 victory.
The real story of the game, however, is how dominant the Warhorse defense was from the first time they stepped on the field.
I will say that after watching the film I was pleased with the way we held their offense out of the end zone and how many times we forced them to punt,” said JV Defensive Coordinator Bart Oropeza. “We preach every day of the week that we want to hold the opposing team’s offense to zero touchdowns. Well, we met our goal again last night!”
Oropeza mentioned a few of the players who had a big defensive game in saying, “Gavin Socarras, Anthony Saldivar, Aiden Salazar, Riley Gutierrez, Alfredo Ramirez, Ty Sadler, Ray’sean Beaver, Tyler Hinnant, and Robert Herandez stood out and I know that I am mentioning most of the team, but it was a total team effort.”
The Horses defense hopes to continue performing at a high level Thursday as well.
“We preach eleven helmets to the football, and I am looking forward to doing it all over again in preparation for Uvalde.”

5th quarter

Since a freshman game was not played prior to the JV tilt, a “5th quarter” allowed players who did not see much time to get game action as well.
Hondo took the lead in this quarter 6-0, but just like the JV game the Horses tried to fight back for the victory. This time, Devine fell short in the 14-6 defeat.
Warhorse running back Jeremy Steinbrenner busted loose on a 50-yard run to set up teammate Ryan Weinkam’s 4-yard touchdown run. Steinbrenner’s run was set up by a key block from Jonathon Morales.
Hondo scored once again and converted the two-point conversion to take the 14-6 lead.
Devine tried to pull off a miracle on the last play of the game as Jacob Rodriguez hit Weinkam on a wheel route as time expired. Weinkam was tackled at the one-yard line to end the quarter.

Lopez, Gomez, Mujica, Scotello, Ortega, & Cook pace Lady Pirates to Islander Splash team championship

1st Place Lady Pirates- 6th Marissa Lopez 12:48, 8th Moriah Gomez 12:54, 11th Samantha Mujica 13:01, 26th Frances Scotello 13:37, 46th Dezmarie Ortega 14:15, 77th Klayre Cook 14:51.

Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
The Lady Pirate Cross Country team continued its fabulous 2022 season capturing the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Saturday in Corpus Christi. Lytle held off a valiant challenge from runner-up Sinton as the Lady Pirates scored 93 points to their Lady Pirate counterpart 101 points.
There were 33 complete teams in the varsity girls’ race with 260 competitors.
Marissa Lopez, Moriah Gomez, and Samantha Mujica all came in the top 11 as Lopez placed 6th, Gomez 8th, and Mujica 11th.
Frances Scotello was barely out of the top 25 coming in at 26th place. Dezmarie Ortega came in 46th and Klaryre Cook was 77th.
“These are a great group of kids who are very coachable, “ said Head Coach Gilbert Ruiz. “They never take anything personally and always seem to rise to the occasion.”
The Lady Pirates had to run in some of the more uncomfortable situations as far as the hottest and most humid part of the day according to Ruiz.
Congratulations to the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Team Champion Lady Pirates.
Team ranking
1st Lytle 93, 2nd Sinton 101, 3rd CC Tuloso-Midway 125, 4th Beeville Jones 133, 5th Pleasanton 157, 6th Pharr IDEA 180, 7th Devine 209, 8th La Vernia 236, 9th Robstown 246, 10th, Carrizo Springs 367.
Lady Pirates
6th Marissa Lopez 12:48, 8th Moriah Gomez 12:54, 11th Samantha Mujica 13:01, 26th Frances Scotello 13:37, 46th Dezmarie Ortega 14:15, 77th Klayre Cook 14:51.
Up next
The Lady Pirates travel to Round Rock Friday to compete in the State venue of Old Settlers Park.

Pirate XC dominates TAMU-CC Islander Splash

1st place Pirates- 3rd Abel Sanchez 17:47, 6th Johnny Rey ALvarez 18:08, 10th Brandon Obando 18:21, 11th Yandel Esquivez 18:31, 13th Luke Estrada 18:41, 70th Robert Wagner 20:52.

Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
Wow! Abel Sanchez, Johnny Rey Alvarez, Branson Obando, Yandel Esquivez, Luke Estrada, and Robert Wagner had quite the day in Corpus Christi last Saturday as they crushed their competition winning the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Invitational scoring 38 points in the process. Runner up La Vernia tallied 104 points.
Sanchez, Alvarez, Obando, Esquivez, and Estrada all crossed the finish line in the top 15 in securing the 38 points. Sanchez was 3rd, only five seconds behind the individual runner up from Sinton.
Alvarez came in 6th, Obando was 10th, Esquivez finished 11th, and Estrada in 13th place. Wagner came in 70th place.
Lytle Head Coach Gilbert Ruiz was obviously extremely satisfied with what his crew was able to accomplish saying, “I was so proud of their effort after having to wake up early in the morning after a football game against our rivals. A lot of them are in band, dance, cheer or even played in the football game (Luke Estrada). Then, we had to run in one of the last races of the day, which is the hottest, most humid time. They are a great group of kids that are very coachable. They never take anything personal and always seem to understand and rise to the occasion.
Running in the heat of the day, after many of the runners had Friday night responsibilities as well, says a lot about the entire team.
“I do want to highlight one student/athlete, Luke Estrada,” continued Ruiz. “He played hard in the football game the night before and when he got to the gym in the morning, I could tell he was struggling, but he said he was fine. During the race Robert Wagner was having a hard time so now Luke became our 5th guy which means where he finishes, the TEAM finishes. He found strength to push through and pick up for his fellow brother to finish 13th. It was a valiant effort and goes to show that everyone on that team is important and at any time you might be expected to step up. And if we prepare enough, then there is nothing that we can’t achieve.”
Congratulations to the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Team Champion Lytle Pirates.
Team ranking
1st Lytle 38, 2nd La Vernia 104, 3rd Premont 229, 4th Devine 232, 5th Dilley 246, 6th Gonzales 269, 7th CC Tuloso-Midway 280, 8th Pleasanton 287, 9th Wallis Brazos 297, 10th Weslaco IDEA 322.
Pirates
3rd Abel Sanchez 17:47, 6th Johnny Rey ALvarez 18:08, 10th Brandon Obando 18:21, 11th Yandel Esquivez 18:31, 13th Luke Estrada 18:41, 70th Robert Wagner 20:52.
Up next
The Pirates travel to Round Rock Friday to compete at Old Settlers Park, which also happens to be the State site later in the season.

Pirate XC JV Team Champs in CC

Bryan Montes-Rodriguez led the Lytle JV Pirate Cross Country team to a team championship with his own individual championship at the TAMU-CC Islander Splash in Corpus Christi this past Saturday. Diego Reyna, Lucas Salazar, Daniel Mercado, and Donaovan Cortez all placed in the top 11 to solidify their low 28-point total over runner up Laredo Martin’s 46 point performance.Montes-Rodriguez’s championship performance came in a field of 108 competitors. Reyna came in 4th, Salazar 5th, Mercado 7th, and Cortez 11th.
The JV Lady Pirates had a fabulous day as well, placing second as a team against 21 other teams. Lytle scored a very respectable 103 points, while team champion La Feria tallied 16.
Nivea Sanchez led the Lady Pirates with her 7th place finish out of 191 competitors. Isabella Sewell came in the top 25 at 24th place, Kimora Sanchez was not too far behind at 26th, Jadyn Bojorquez was 28th, Fatima Montes placed 58th, and Annika Robles came in at 93rd.
Team boy ranking
1st Lytle 28, 2nd Laredo Martin 46, 3rd Corpus Christi Carroll 92, 4th Gregory-Portland 98, 5th Agua Dulce 136, 6th McAllen Rowe 153, 7th Laredo Cigarroa 174, 8th College Station 189, 9th Harlingen South 213, 10th IDEA Pharr 241, 11th Port Lavaca Calhoun 294.
JV Pirates
1st Bryan Montes-Rodriguez 11:31, 4th Diego Reyna 11:45, 5th Lucas Salazar 11:48, 7th Daniel Mercado 11:59, 11th Donovan Cortez 12:26, 68th Aaron Martinez 14:47.
Team girl ranking
1st La Feria 16, 2nd Lytle 103, 3rd College Station 113, 4th Harlingen South 124, 5th Laredo United South 162, 6th Brownsville Hanna 166, 7th Gregory Portland 221, 8th Laredo Cigarroa 258, 9th George West 300, 10th Edinburg 322.
JV Lady Pirates
7th Nivea Sanchez 14:00, 24th Isabella Sewell 15:20, 26th Kimora Sanchez 15:22, 4th Jadyn Bojorquez 15:28, 58th Fatima Montes 16:35, 93rd Annika Robles 17:52.

Devine XC

Stotts, Carr lead Arabian XC to 7th place in Corpus

Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
Thirty-three teams made up the varsity girl division of the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Invitational, and the Devien Arabians placed 7th overall boosted by top 25 finishes from Rachel Stotts and Aimee Carr. Stotts placed 21st and Carr 24th out of a field of 260 runners.
Airyanna Rodriguez placed in the top 50 at 42nd place, while Kristina Moralez came in at 62nd place and Ashley Mattke at 79th place to make up the 209 team score.
Charlee Rangel came in 83rd and Rebecca Mares placed 149th.
Team ranking
1st Lytle 93, 2nd Sinton 101, 3rd CC Tuloso-Midway 125, 4th Beeville Jones 133, 5th Pleasanton 157, 6th Pharr IDEA 180, 7th Devine 209, 8th La Vernia 236, 9th Robstown 246, 10th, Carrizo Springs 367.
Arabians
21st Rachel Stotts 13:30, 24th Aimee Carr 13:35, 42nd Airyanna Rodriguez 14:09, 62nd Kristina Moralez 14:35, 79th Ashley Mattke 14:53, 83rd Charlee Rangel 14:58, 149th Rebecca Mares 16:24.

Warhorse XC 4th in TAMU-CC Invitational

The Devine Warhorse Cross Country team had a terrific showing at last Saturday’s TAMU-CC Islander Splash down in Corpus Christi as they placed 4th overall out of 32 competing teams. Senior Kristofer Aguirre led Devine with his 15th place finish out of a field of 255 runners.
Jesse House placed 59th, Thomas Mendoza was 61st, Mario Vicente came in 62nd, and David Gutierrez was next at 64th to complete the scoring for the 232-point Warhorse team
Joe Guerrero was 74th and Stephen Culver was 180th.
Team ranking
1st Lytle 38, 2nd La Vernia 104, 3rd Premont 229, 4th Devine 232, 5th Dilley 246, 6th Gonzales 269, 7th CC Tuloso-Midway 280, 8th Pleasanton 287, 9th Wallis Brazos 297, 10th Weslaco IDEA 322.
Warhorses
15th Kristofer Aguirre 18:45, 59th Jesse House 20:32, 61st Thomas Mendoza 20:34, 62nd Mario Vicente 20:35, 64th David Gutierrez 20:39, 74th Joe Guerrero 20:57, 180th Stephen Culver 23:56.

JV Arabian XC team champs in Seguin

The JV Arabians won their first meet of the 2022 season as they scored 20 points to win the Seguin Invitational over second place Seguin who scored 48 and third place Three Rivers who totaled 64.
All six Devine runners placed in the top 10 with Jilliyn Guajardo pacing the Arabians. Guajardo finished 3rd overall with a time of 15:29.
Dani Gutierrez (4th-15:46), Joselyn Guajardo (5th-15:49), Angelina Garcia (6th-16:28). Aaralynn Garcia (7th-16:53), and Lexi Perez (9th-17:45) competed on the championship team.
The JV Warhorses only had two runners Stephan Culver placed 6th and Ethin Erwin came in 7th place. Culver ran his 5K in 22:31 while Erwin came in at 23:43.

Devine Varsity Tennis wins fourth district game

By Mark Feltner
Devine Varsity Tennis won their 4th straight district game on Wednesday, September 14th against Carrizo Springs, 19-0.
Results:
Victor Schaefer/Logan Davis won 7-5,6-2; Victor won 6-0,6-1, Logan won 6-1,6-0
Ethin Erwin/Hector Garza won 6-2,6-0; Ethin won 6-0,6-2, Hector won 6-0,6-2
Ethan Gelinas/Tanner Davis won 6-1,6-2; Ethan won 8-1
Jordan Erxleben/Savanna Pequeno won 6-0,6-0; Jordan won 6-0,6-2, Savanna won 6-0,6-0
Danelly Rodriguez/Victoria Nunez won 6-0,6-2; Danelly won 8-0, Victoria won 8-0
Oakley Malone/Joselyn Guajardo won 6-1,6-0; Oakley won 6-0,6-0
Johnathon Gelinas/Kelsey Dishman won 6-0,6-0; Johnathon won 6-0,6-0, Kelsey won 6-0,6-0
In extra matches:
Brooks Poppe/Brianna Schaefer won 8-1; Brooks won 8-1, Brianna won 8-0
Joselyn Guajardo won 8-0
Tanner Davis lost 3-8
We look forward to a busy next week, with JV in Uvalde on Tuesday and then Varsity@ San Antonio Kennedy on Wednesday.

Adam Salinas
Junior Team Tennis
Victor Schaefer
Junior Team Tennis
Savanna Pequeno
Junior Team Tennis

Lytle Junior Varsity Volleyball action

Junior Varsity Lady Pirate #9 Zoey Salinas recieves the ball Also pictured is #3 Kylie Cantu.

By Noah Gilkey
On Tuesday, September 13th, the Lytle Junior High Lady Pirates hosted the Dilley Wolves for the night, and came out on top at every level for a successful evening.
Kicking things off with the 8th grade B team, the girls were able to put together a good serving game, led by Mari Guerrero and Gabby Finamore, to ultimately take the win in two sets of 25-10 and 25-10.
The 7th grade A team took the floor next and again utilized a strong serving game in order to earn the win against Dilley. “We have expressed to the girls how important serving is in volleyball, and by serving well we are able to stay in control of the game.” Says coach Shelly Armentrout of the girls’ serving tactics throughout the game.
Led by Evelyn Barco, Ashley Evans, and Haley Ward, the girls served their way to victory in 25-19 and 25-14.
Rounding out the night was the 8th grade A team, who kept the streak going and sealed out Dilley from getting any wins on the night. The key to their win was again good serving from the girls, led by Aliana Cardenas and Lillian Evans. “…both girls served so well in the first game that they only went three rotations.” said coach Armentrout. The first set was won in 25-4. A few more rotations in the second set and the girls completed the sweep against Dilley, finishing in 25-18. Coach Armentrout also comments on the support from fans at games. “If you get the chance to come cheer the girls on we know they would love to see you.”

Junior Varsity Natalia Mustang’s #17 and #18 set up a block.

Varsity Lytle Pirate #1 Marissa Lopez sets the ball to middle front. Photos by Amber DuBose.

By Noah Gilkey
On Tuesday, September 13th the Varsity Lady Pirates stayed home and were hungry for a win in their rematch against the Sabinal Hornets. The Lady Pirates played a total of five sets against Sabinal, which always proves to result in a competitive game.
The Pirates kept an edge on Sabinal for the first two sets, winning in 25-23 and 27-25, respectively. Keeping their spirits up the girls continues to fight hard but continued to come up just short in the next three matches, finishing the game with a loss. With a final score of 2-3, the Pirates stay optimistic.
“We took a hard loss against the hornets but learned many lessons that night” said head volleyball coach Sam Mendez.
Leading the matchup against Sabinal on Tuesday were Pirates Calyssa Servier with 19 kills and 27 digs, Marissa Lopez with 20 assists, and Cameron “Fizz” Hutton with 5 solo blocks and 2 assist blocks.
The Lady Pirates’ second game of the week was again at home but this time against West Campus High School. A better string of matches allowed for a win for the Lady Pirates, ultimately doing so in 25-18, 25-20, and 25-19.
“We have made a lot of changes up to this point in the season. We still have a lot of work that needs to be done but we are determined to get better every day.” Coach Mendez was happy with the result of the game.
Leading the three matches were Marissa Lopez with 14 set-assists, Calyssa Servier with 23 digs, both Cameron “Fizz” Hutton and Cadee Martinez with 1 solo block, and Rose Scotello with 4 aces and 8 kills.
The Lady Pirates had a good last week of play before their first district game against Crystal City on Tuesday, September 20th.
Complete Stats:
v. Crystal City:
Kills: Calyssa Sevier with 19
Assists: Marissa Lopez with 20
Digs: Calyssa Sevier with 27
Blocks: Cameron “Fizz” Hutton with 5 solo blocks and 2 assist blocks.
v. West Campus:
Kills: Rose Scotello with 19
Assists: Marissa Lopez with 14 set assists
Digs: Calyssa Sevier with 23
Blocks: Cameron “Fizz” Hutton and Cadee Martinez each with 1 solo block

Natalia Junior Varsity Lady Mustangs stay home to play D’Hanis squad

Junior Varsity Natalia Mustang’s #17 and #18 set up a block.

By Noah Gilkey
The Lady Mustangs Junior Varsity volleyball team played D’Hanis high school in Natalia on Tuesday, September 13th, and played hard in front of their energizing home crowd. Starting the game off with the first set the girls unfortunately couldn’t get enough points going and fell 15-25. The second set was then much too similar to the first, ending again in 15-25 to leave the Junior Varsity Ladies with a 0-2 loss.
Highlighting the game was Abigail Firgueroa with 2 kills, Makayla Rodriguez with 2 assists and 1 ace, Aryana Ramirez with 6 digs, and Aracely Segovia with 5 digs. The ladies take a chip on their shoulder and will be back on Tuesday, September 20th to play Cotulla.
Complete Stats:
Kills: Abigail Figueroa 2
Assists: Makayla Rodriguez 2
Aces: Makayla Rodriguez 1
Digs: Aryanna Ramirez 6 and Araceley Segovia 5

Natalia Varsity Lady Mustangs play tough 3 sets against D’Hanis

Varsity Natalia Mustang #9 sets the ball outside Also pictured is #8.

By Noah Gilkey
The Natalia Varsity Lady Mustangs volleyball team stayed at home for the second consecutive week and welcomed D’Hanis high school to their home court last week on Tuesday, September 13th to compete against a strong varsity squad. Starting the game off with a 16-25 first set, the girls kept their hopes up moving in to the rest of the game. Another tough set of 14-25 put the Ladies down 0-2. With one more chance to keep the game going and potentially come back from their deficit the Ladies unfortunately couldn’t pull together enough points to keep the D’Hanis squad at bay. With a score in the final set of 7-25 the game finished on a hard note for the Ladies.
Leading their varsity squad throughout it all this game was Anaya Jones with 4 kills and 3 digs, Angelina Solis with 2 kills and 3 digs, Tommie Gunn with 7 assists Abigail Fulton with 2 aces and 3 Digs, and Angelina Duenes with 3 digs.
The Lady Mustangs continue to work hard and look forward to playing Cotulla on Tuesday, September 20th.
Complete Stats:
Kills: Anaya Jones with 4 and Angelina Solis with 2
Assists: Tommie Gunn with 7
Aces: Abigail Fulton with 2
Digs: Anaya Jones, Angelina Duenes, Abigail Fulton, and Angelina Solis with 3

Devine Fillys – 8th Grade
Volleyball

Eighth grade Filly #19 Lesslie De Los Santos swings on the ball. Also pictured are #25 Tucker Traylor and #11 Kyrie DuBose.

The 8th grade Fillys Volleyball teams had a full week of playing this past week. To start the week, the teams made the long trip to Carrizo Springs to face the Wildcats.
The Gold team started the evening off in the first 8th grade game of the night. In the first set, the Fillys and the Wildcats battled back and forth. At a 3-all tie, the Wildcats jumped out to a 9-3 lead. But, when the Filly’s setter, Paige Barron, came into the game and served, the game took on an entirely new look. Paige served 18 straight serves, helping the Fillys go up on Carrizo Springs 21-9. A few minutes later, the game ended with the Fillys winning 24-11 as time expired.
In the 2nd set, the Fillys dominated. Coming off of the first set win, Jacqueline Salazar served 10 straight Filly points, putting the team up 12-4. After that, Paige Barron, once again, went on a serving streak for her team, serving 10 straight serves as well. The Fillys found themselves up 23-5. After a side out point, Kenzie Schott came in and served for the game winning point. The Fillys won the game and pushed their season record to 2-1.
The Maroon game followed the gold team’s victory. Starting out receiving in the first set, the Fillys found themselves down by 5. Slowly but surely, the Fillys started to come back against the Wildcats. After being down 8-17, the Fillys made a run, and before they knew it, the score was 23-24. With the game on the line, the Wildcats were able to side out and score the winning point. The Fillys dropped the first set 23-25.


Early in the 2nd set, the score was 10-9 in favor of Carrizo Springs. The back and forth battle continued 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16-16, and 19-19. After that, the Wildcats made it 19-22. The Fillys stood their ground, fighting for each and every ball, and each and every point. In the end though, Carrizo won the 2nd set 25-20, capturing the win.
On Saturday, the Fillys hosted their home tournament. In the first game of the morning, the Fillys took on Hondo. In the first set, the Fillys jumped out to a 8-2 lead, but the Owls came up even at 13-13. After that, Devine took the edge 20-19. Hondo then earned their way to a 21-24 lead. The Fillys did a great job holding them off, but Hondo ended up taking the first set, 21-25.  In the 2nd set, it was a point for point battle through 8-8. It was then that Hondo scored 7 straight points. After gathering themselves, Devine sat in good position at 19-21. From that point Hondo took the set 19-25.
In the second game for the Fillys, they met up with Pleasanton. Devine was up early 11-7. Just a few minutes later, Devine still led 23-22. Unfortunately, Pleasanton took the next few points in this tight battle, winning the set 25-23. The second set was almost as close with the two teams tied at 16-16 and 17-17. PLeasanton was able to hold their serve 23-19. They were then able to score two more points, winning the set 25-20 and taking the game.
In the afternoon game, the Fillys came up against the Poth Pirates. In, once again, a point for point battle, the Fillys held strong early. After leading late in the game at 21-16, the Pirates took the first set 25-16. In the second set, Poth jumped out to an early lead. The Fillys fought back and continued to battle, the team from Poth was too much for them, and they took the set 25-17, winning the game.
Even though the day was full of struggles for the Fillys, there were many bright points. They have grasped the concept of hit defense and played well against all three teams that solidly hit against them. They fought back again and again in every game. Serve receive and passing were much improved from the game just a few days earlier in the week. Hitters were getting hittable set, and were able to put many of them down. It was definitely a good showing for the Fillys, even though they did not end up victorious.

Last Friday, September 16, Devine’s freshman Arabian volleyball team traveled to the home of the Pleasanton Eagles for their third district game of the season. It was a hard fought and big win for the girls in three sets. ” We had a tough start to the game in the 1st set. Our hitters struggled a bit as we weren’t able to finish points. After talking between sets we were a new team the next two sets. Our energy was up and we did a much better job finishing plays like we should. Bella Flores and Gabby Mendez stepped up for us in the front row the next two sets. This helped us get into a rhythm and keep up our intensity. I’m so proud of the girls for not giving up and fighting for every single point as it was a battle till the end. I do want to give a shout out to the back row, that did a great job for us in serve receive and defensively the entire game. That being said, everyone stepped up and played a role in this big win for us. It was an exciting game to be a part of! One step closer to being district champs,”- Coach Stacey.
As a team the girls had a total of eight digs, sixteen assists, nine aces, and sixteen kills. Leading in digs for the night was #6 Bella Flores with three digs and six kills. Gabby Mendez had a total of nine assists as well as three aces. Set points were as follows; 18-25, 25-19, and 15-12.
Digs: Bella Flores-3, Aimee CArr-1, Payton Applewhite-1, Jaylynn Hernandez-1, Cami Carroll-1, Macie Grubb-1. Assists: Gabby Mendez-9, Cami Carroll-7. Aces: Gabby Mendez-3, Cami Carroll-2, Bella Flores-2, Payton Applewhite-1, Aimee Carr-1. Kills: Bella Flores-6, Gabby Mendez-5, Cami Carroll-2, Macie Grubb-1, Aimee Carr-1, Brilee Carroll-1.

Freshman Arabians vs Carrizo Springs

Devine Freshman Arabians celebrate a point.


Last Tuesday night the Arabians traveled to Carrizo Springs on September 13 to face the Wildcats for their second district game of the season. Fortunately the girls came out on top 2-0. Set points were as follows; 25-8, and 25-11.
“Officially 2-0 in District. The girls did a great job staying together and maintaining focus the entire time. I saw great things from everyone tonight however I do have to give a shout out to Brilee Carroll who took over in the front row. She led the team with 4 kills for the night. Cami Carroll had 9 aces and Aimee Carr with 5 did a great job serving for us as well. Stoked for the good competition on Friday in Pleasanton,”- Coach Stacey.
As a team the girls had a total of seven assists, twenty-four aces, eight kills, and one block.
Assists: Cami Carroll-4, and Gabby Mendez-3. Aces: Cami Carroll-9, Aimee Carr-5, Gabby Mendez-4, Bella Flores-3, Lilly Owen-2, Brilee Carroll-1. Kills: Brilee Carroll-4, Aimee Carr-2, Gabby Mendez-2. Blocks: Taylin Herrera-1.