Arabians open first week 5-5

On Tuesday, the Arabians opened their season against Pleasanton and ended their week 5-5 after the Columbus Classic. Coach Leigh Anne McIver and her team had to work hard in each game and are learning what they need to work on before district starts.
With just a couple of days of practice under them, the Arabians made the short drive to Pleasanton and took on the Lady Eagles. Pleasanton had a small team of only 7 players but they were ready for the powerful Arabian team. Pleasanton took the first two sets 25-22 and 25-12, but Devine fought and took the third set 25-23. The Lady Eagles took the fourth and final set 25-20. “You could tell this was our first game of the season. We did some great things but there were times we were hesitant because we weren’t sure of certain situations on the court. This was a good stepping step for the season,” said Coach McIver
Zoe Gonzales 3 kills, 1 dig. Avery Cruz 1 assist, 12 digs. Rylee Esquibel 20 kills, 22 digs, 1 assist. Kristina Morales 22 digs, 1 assist. Bailey Oropeza 3 kills, 1 ace, 7 digs. Darian Alvarez 3 kills, 2 digs. Brooklyn Miller 6 kills, 3 digs. Macey Hein 5 kills, 6 aces, 43 assists, 11 digs. Aleyna Gerlach 6 kills, 1 block, 4 digs, Skylar Blanton 4 kills, 3 blocks, 4 digs. Cece Martinez 1 assist 1 dig.
In their 2nd game on Tuesday, the Arabians took on Burbank and won 3-0. “We really stepped it up in this game. A lot of what we needed to correct from the Pleasanton game, was corrected in this game. We looked more relaxed and comfortable on the court. Great first win of the season,” said the excited Coach McIver. Devine beat Burbank 25-20, 29-27, 25-20.
Gonzales 9 kills. Cruz 1 ace, 3 digs. Esquibel 9 kills, 4 aces, 1 block, 8 digs. Moralez 9 digs. Oropeza 1 ace, 5 digs. Alverez 7 kills. Hein 3 kills, 1 aces, 32 assists, 3 digs. Gerlach 7 kills. Blanton 4 kills. Martinez 4 digs.
In the Columbus Classic, Devine faced 6 different teams and each with a different style. On Thursday, the Arabians opened against Industrial and won in three. After dropping their first set 17-25, Devine turned the game around and won the second 28-26 and carried that momentum into the final set to win it 15-12.
“We did some really good things at this tournament. We did have to change some of our lineups, but we had a lot of people step up and fill the roles they were put in. Our defense really got better as the tournament went along. Our offense started to get way more aggressive and we were able to put up some big blocks at the net. We learned a lot and grew, which is exactly what this part of the season is about,” said Coach McIver
Gonzales 9 kills. Cruz 1 ace, 8 digs. Esquibel 9 kills, 4 aces, 1 block, 9 digs. Moralez 9 digs. Oropeza 1 ace, 5 digs. Alvarez 7 kills. Hein 3 kills, 1 ace, 32 assists, 3 digs. Gerlach kills. Blanton 4 kills.
Their second game was against Lexington and it was quickly over for Devine. They lost 0-2 at 17-25 and 15-25. Devine played hard and dug the ball out 27 times as a team.
Gonzales 1 kill, 1 dig. Cruz 3 digs. Esquibel 3 kills, 5 digs. Moralez 6 digs. Oropeza 7 digs. Alvarez 1 kill. Miller 4 kills. Hein 1 kill, 10 assists, 1 dig. Blanton 1 kill. Martinez 1 kill, 4 digs.
Their final game on Thursday was against El Campo and each set was close. Devine dropped the first set by just 2 points at 23-25. The second set went to Devine at 25-20 and in the final set Devine lost 7-15 after a hard fight.
Gonzales 5 kills. Cruz 1 assists, 11 digs. Esquibel 6 kills. Moralez 8 digs. Oropeza 1 ace, 7 digs. Alvarez 3 kills, 1 block 1 dig. Miller 4 kills. Hein 1 ace, 18 assists, 3 digs. Blanton 5 kills. 1 assist.
Friday the Arabians returned to Columbus and were ready for another long day of matches. They started off with a loss to Caldwell but then beat Luling and Sealy to make their record 4-4. Their game against Caldwell was a tough loss. They fell 23-25 and then won 27-25. It all came down to set 3 and it was another tight game but it ended 15-13 in Caldwell’s favor.
Gonzales 5 kills. Cruz 12 digs, 1 assist. Esquibel 12 kills, 1 ace, 14 digs. Morales 6 digs. Oropeza 1 dig. Alverez 4 kills, 1 block, 1 dig. Miller 4 kills. Hein 5 kills, 1 block, 10 digs, 28 assists. Blanton 5 kills, 2 digs. Martinez 2 aces, 7 digs.
Frustrated from that defeat, Devine made quick work of Luling, beating them 25-7 and 25-19.
Gonzales 5 kills, 3 digs. Cruz 5 digs. Esquibel 12 digs, 1 assist. Oropeza 4 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs. Alvarez 5 kills, 1 dig. Miller 3 kills, 2 digs. Hien 1 hill, 6 digs, 18 assists. Blanton 4 kills, 1 block, 1 dig. Martinez 2 aces, 3 digs.
In their final match of the day, Devine faced Sealy and won the first set 25-22 but lost the second set 23-25. In the third set Devine took control and won 15-10.
Gonzales 5 kills, 2 digs. Cruz 1 ace, 13 digs. Esquibel 7 kills, 7 digs. Moralez 6 digs 1 assist. Oropeza digs. Alvarez 4 kills, 5 digs. Miller 3 kills, 4 digs. Hein 3 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 11 digs, 22 assists. Blanton 4 kills, 3 digs. Martinez 3 digs, 2 assists.
On Saturday, the Arabians rematched with Industrial and won in two sets at 25-21 and 25-16.
Gonzales 4 kills. Cruz 16 digs. Esquibel 6 kills, 2 aces, 8 digs. Morales 7 digs. Alvarez 2 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist. Miller 6 kills. Hein 2 kills, 1 block, 5 digs, 24 assists. Torres 1 kill. Blanton 4 kills. Martinez 12 digs.
Their final game was against Sealy but this time Sealy stepped up for the win in three sets. Devine took the first set 25-12 but then Sealy won 25-21 and 15-13 for the game win.
Gonzales 4 kills. Cruz 1 ace, 14 digs. Esquibel 16 kills, 1 aces, 2 digs. Moralez 2 digs. Alvarez 2 kills. Miller 4 kills, 2 digs. Hein 2 kills, 1 ace, 3 digs, 27 assists. Torres 1 dig. Martinez 7 digs.
The Arabians will host their home tournament this weekend and look to improve on their 5-5 record. Next week they will play in Bandera and then in the Seguin Tournament Friday and Saturday.
By Dicy Chambers
Sports Writer