The Arabian volleyball team faced Needville in the Regional Semifinals Monday night. The Blue Jays traveled from just west of Houston to face the Arabians in Goliad. They were undefeated in district and showed up with a 32-0 record. Needville beat West Oso 3-0, Boerne 3-0, and Sinton 3-0 to get to the Regional Semifinals.
The Arabians fell in three sets but showed great leadership from their seniors,Allison Stevens, Megan Runyan, Darian Alvarez, and Madison Pike. They never got frustrated or upset by the score and played their hardest to deep up with the Blue Jays. Devine fought hard for every point but lost 25-12, 25-13, and 25-5. Needville moves on to face Wimberly or Tuloso-Midway. The Arabians have finished their season as the Regional Quarterfinal Champs and 21-1 overall.
In the Area playoff game against Robstown on November 3rd, the Arabians took them down 3-1. Robstown had beaten Hidalgo 3-2 to advance. Devine won the first set but stumbled it the second. Not letting the Cotton Pickers take control again, Devine won the third and froth sets to take the game. 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, and 25-18. “The girls did some great things tonight! It took us a while to get on a roll in the first set but we finally shook off the nerves and took control. We started off strong in the second set but then some calls got us out of our game and we just couldn’t finish out the set. In the third we came back strong and finished it out in the fourth. We did a great job on serve receive and everyone contributed on defense. Our offensive players really stepped up tonight and were real aggressive!” Coach McIver
Kills: Megan Runyan 25, Rylee Esquibel 10, Bailey Oropeza 2, Brianna Torres 2, Aleyna Gerlach 2, Madison Pike 12. Aces: Allison Stevens 2, Runyan 4, Esquibel 2, Kristina Moralez 1. Blocks: Pike 6.
Digs: Stevens 9, Runyan 18, Esquibel 15, Moralez 25, Oropeza 20, Torres 4, Gerlach 3, Avery Cruz 1, Pike 4. Assists: Stevens 18, Esquibel 22, Moralez 3.
To advance to the Regional Quarterfinals, Calallen was 2nd in their district and beat Grulla 3-0 and Hondo 3-2. But when they faced Devine, November 5th the Wildcats were sent home with a loss. The first set was tight at 25-23 but Devine took the second set 25-13. The Wildcats pushed back hard in the third but it was too little too late as Devine won it 25-21. “These girls put on a defensive show tonight!!! The team came in wanting to win this game and they weren’t going to let anything hit the floor! We served really well again and our serve receive really allowed us to run our offense tonight. They fought hard for the win and were not going to give up.” Coach McIver
Kills: Megan Runyan 7, Rylee Esquibel 7, Bailey Oropeza 1, Aleyna Gerlach 4, Madison Pike 5. Aces: Allison Stevens 2, Runyan 3, Esquibel 1, Oropeza 1. Blocks: Runyan 2, Esquibel 1, Gerlach 2, Pike 2. Digs: Stevens 11, Runyan 11, Esquibel 11, Kristina Moralez 18, Oropeza 12, Brianna Torres 3, Gerlach 3, Avery Cruz 1, Pike 3. Assists: Stevens 12, Runyan 1, Esquibel 10.
By Dicy Chambers
Sports Writer