Arabians play hard against Pleasanton and Hondo

In a Bi-District rematch, the Arabians fell to the Lady Eagles 1-3. Pleasanton returned with eight of their varsity from last season and one of their outside hitters tallied 30 kills against the Arabians. “I think that we did some good things Tuesday night even though we did not walk away with the win. Not having three of our returners on the court did make a difference and we had some players playing in new positions but there were lots of positives. I think our serve receive and defense passing is way ahead of where we usually are at this point in the year. The game definitely let us know what we need to work on,” stated Coach Leigh Anne McIver.
Devine stayed tight with Pleasanton at 26-28, 13-25, 26-24, and 20-25. Kills: Rylee Esquibel 10, Darian Alverez 3, Brianna Torres 1, Aleyna Gerlach 6, Zoe Gonzales 7, Madison Pike 9. Aces: Esquibel 1, Lacey Shook 1, Pike 3. Blocks: Esquibel 1, Alverez 1, Torres 3, Gerlach 2, Pike 3. Digs: Allison Stevens 10, Esquibel 4, Kristina Moralez 20, Alverez 3, Shook 5, Torres 7, Gerlach 2, Gonzales 4, Pike 1. Assists: Stevens 12, Esquibel 18, Moralez 2.
Facing Hondo on August 15th, the Arabians took the first two sets at 25-22 and 25-22 and then fell behind to lose the final three at 22-25, 25-27, and 8-15. “I thought we started off the match strong but still hesitant at times. In the end we just made too many mistakes to recover from. This was our first match with almost everyone back and a brand new lineup that we haven’t really had a chance to work on. We have people playing positions that are new to them so it’s just going to take some time for everyone to feel comfortable with each other and gel,” said Coach McIver.
Kills: Esquibel 10, Alverez 1, Gerlach 3, Pike 5, Megan Runyan 10, Bailey Oropeza 3. Aces: Stevens 7, Esquibel 2, Pike 1, Oropeza 2. Blocks: Esquibel 1, Alverez 1, Gerlach 1, Pike 6, Runyan 1, Oropeza 1. Digs: Stevens 5, Esquibel 6, Moralez 20, Alverez 1, Gerlach 1, Pike 2, Runyan 13, Oropeza 13. Assists: Stevens 17, Esquibel 10, Moralez 1.
Now 0-2 for the season, the Arabians have plenty of time to work out the kinks before district. They will face Natalia and Marion at home on August 21st starting at 4:00pm, Pleasanton at home on Saturday at 10:00 and Bandera next Tuesday at 5:00pm. District starts September 22nd against Somerset.
By Dicy Chambers
Sports Writer